The Deity of Destruction's Fiancee
by Kaichi98
Summary: After successfully destroying Relics and saving Chrono and the others, the Apostles now have a new target, but why the change? Find out in this story! DISCLAIMER! I don't own CFV
1. Chapter 1

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new story! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

After the destruction of Relics, Chrono and the others have been brought to the Association's secret base's infirmary as Aichi used his Psyqualia while the other waited silently behind him.

" I should've helped too..." Ren pouted

" No."

" Huh?! Why?!"

" Shut up, you'll break his concentration."

Ren silently pouted as Aichi's Psyqualia finally deactivated.

" Looks like there's no side effects from Relics."

" Thank you, Sendou."

" No, it's the least I could do. I couldn't help much with destroying the generators after all."

" Everyone here were a lot of help already."

" Hopefully we can figure out the Apostles' next move before they do again."

" We'll be working hard on that. For now, you just concentrate on finding any abnormalities in their sleep."

" Yeah. Leave it to me."

Ibuki nodded as they went to gather in the meeting room again while Aichi sighed before falling to his knees.

 _" I still can't keep up my energy with Psyqualia..."_ Aichi thought

" But I have to protect them..."

He grabbed a nearby chair and pulled himself to sit on it.

" All of you will be just fine. I know you're all strong enough to overcome this."

Aichi leaned back on the chair and took his rest as time passed... At the meeting room, Ibuki and the others were still discussing their counterattack.

" By the way, where's Brother?"

" He's watching over them in the infirmary."

" I should be there to help too..." Ren pouted

" No. Knowing you, you'd cause a mess of things."

" Yeah, yeah."

" Meanies!"

Suddenly, the alarm rang as they gasped.

" A intruder?!"

" Where are they?!"

" I'm going out to check!"

The door opened before Tokoha could do so as Darkface and Gredora were there.

" Wakamizu-san!"

" No. I am Darkface."

" I am Gredora."

" What are you doing here?!"

" No reason."

" What are you saying?!"

" Ibuki! There's intruders in the infirmary too!"

" Chrono and the others are there! Move out of the way!"

" No can do. Until we attain what we've came for, we won't let you out."

" Ibuki, do something about this! Otherwise, they'll get Chrono and the others again!"

" I know!"

" But they're outnumbered! Let's force our way through!"

" Yeah!"

Suddenly, Darkface's watch suddenly received a signal.

" Let's go, Your Majesty."

" Yeah. Seems like delaying them was enough."

" What?!"

There was a flash of light from the watch as they shielded their eyes. Once the light was gone, Ibuki was the first to open his eyes as he ran to the infirmary. The others managed to open their eyes after a few more moments as they nodded. They were about to run to the door when Ibuki came back.

" Ibuki-kun, did..."

" They're all safe."

" What a relief!"

" Brother's amazing... He managed to chase them off!"

" About that..."

Ibuki stayed silent as he tried to meet Q4's eyes. He then took out a deck case and placed it on the table.

" I'm sorry, he didn't chase them off... In fact, they took him with them."

" W-What did you say...?!"

" What do you mean, Ibuki?! Aichi's been taken?! By those Apostles?!"

" Unfortunately..."

" Then find them! They couldn't have gone far!"

" If they had transport, it'll be hard to find them."

" Then what should we do?!"

Kai ran off screen immediately as Kamui turned his phone off and their screen went off.

" Kai..."

" Why would they suddenly take Aichi-kun? They targeted Chrono-kun and the others first."

" What's more important is that we find a way to find Sendou before it's too late."

" I'll try to track them but it's a fifty-fifty chance I'll find them."

" Try everything you can, Chris."

" You got it."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a truck an hour later, Aichi opened his eyes as he looked around.

 _" Where am I...?"_ Aichi thought

He felt restrains on his arms as he looked up to see his arms shackled up in the center of the truck. A cloth was wrapped around his mouth. He winced at the stinging pain left on the back of his neck as he tried to remember what happened.

 _~ Flashback start~_

 _Aichi was still taking his rest when the alarm started to ring. He woke up as he looked around and the door opened._

 _" You're..."_

 _" Why, hello there. I'm Gastille and this is Valeos."_

 _" I won't let you take Chrono-kun and the others again!"_

 _He quickly took out his deck as the two approached him._

 _" Unfortunately for you, we're not here for them."_

 _" Huh?"_

 _" We're here... to retrieve you."_

 _Aichi gasped as he stepped back._

 _" W-What do you...?"_

 _" Valeos."_

 _Valeos nodded as he quickly grabbed Aichi's arm. He pulled him towards him and hit the back of his neck before Aichi fainted and dropped his deck._

 _" Now, let's go. Gyze-sama is waiting for him."_

 _" Yeah."_

 _Valeos carried Aichi as they both went out of the base._

 _~ Flashback end~_

 _" I see... The Apostles entered and..."_ Aichi thought

Aichi tried to struggle out of the shackles as he sighed after being unable to loosen them. He felt something dropping as he saw his phone. He tried to reach it with his feet as he removed one of his shoes to unlock his phone and press the phone application. He then typed a number before Ibuki showed up on the screen after two rings.

" Sendou! Sendou, are you alright?!"

Aichi nodded as he looked up at the chains and started to tap it to draw Ibuki's attention to it.

" What is it?"

Aichi moved the phone with his feet again to make the chains clearer as he started to draw something.

" What are you trying to tell me? ... Hold on for a bit!"

Ibuki came back on screen as he was noting what Aichi was drawing on the chain.

" Is this your message? To tell us where you are?"

Aichi moved the phone again before nodding. There was a sudden stop as the phone slid to the side.

" Sendou!"

The door of the truck opened as Aichi quickly wore his shoe and took a glance to Ibuki before he nodded and turned the call off.

" Hmph! So you're awake!"

" Now, now. You don't need to be so rude, Darkface."

" Valeos, bring him inside."

Valeos entered and took the chain off the shackles as he carried Aichi again. Gastille took notice of the phone as he picked it up.

" It seems that he tried to contact his comrades."

" Is that so?"

Gastille looked over to Aichi as he tried to avoid his eyes.

" No matter, if it was a failed cause, then we don't have to worry. Even if he did contact them, they wouldn't know where we are."

" Of course! This place will cut off his phone's signal from here on so there's no need to worry about those comrades of his."

" Comrades, huh? Well, soon, he wouldn't even remember them."

Aichi's eyes widened as he was brought into the mansion on the cliff.

* * *

Meanwhile, after hanging up the call, Ibuki immediately showed the others the code Aichi had drawn out.

" What's this? It's full of dots."

" It's some sort of code."

" This looks familiar..."

" It's Braille."

" Braille?"

" Oh, I've heard of them before! Braille is a writing system that's used by visually impaired people!"

" He really is multilingual now... Anyway, we need to break down what he's trying to say in this. Chris, do you have a link to how alphabets and numbers are spelt in Braille?"

" Hold on. I'll show you guys the chart."

The screen showed a diagram as Ibuki wrote down the corresponding letters and numbers to each Braille.

" If we are to assure that the dash over here is a spacing for each Braille, then it's safe to assume that those before the dash are a single word."

" Cancel the numbers. He's not telling us any numbers. All of them are alphabets."

Ibuki nodded as he wrote it down again.

" It's in English..."

" Let me see it."

They showed Chris the paper as he read it.

" Sea-Bumpy-Road-Ascending-Slope."

" That's all?"

" Sea, Bumpy, Road, Ascending and Slope... Even if he can't see what's outside, he could hear the sea and the road was bumpy. Then there was an ascending slope... These are all based on his sense of hearing and how he felt the environment was around him."

" So, the hideout of the Apostles is near the sea, with a bumpy road and ascending slope..."

" A cliff?"

" That could be it! But... There's a lot of it in Japan."

" How long did it take for Aichi to contact you and when the truck stopped moving?"

" About an hour or so."

" Unfortunately, I can't catch his phone's signal. There's something preventing me from searching it. But based on the time it took for them to arrive at their destination... There are at least ten places with that kind of description in an hour ride close to you guys. However, I can't pinpoint which direction they went so these places are scattered around the North, South, East and West."

" We'll need to figure out which direction they went to then... Any other clues from the call, Ibuki?"

" ... The Sun's direction! It was hitting his face a little!"

" So, we've been discussing this for at least 15 minutes so it would be 5pm before now... I got it! The Sun sets towards the West today, so if it was directly shining on him, he'll be at the East!"

" How many are there are the East?"

" Five of them!"

" That's still a lot... We'll need to split up."

" Agreed. They're pretty far apart too."

" Let's make haste!"

" Yeah!"

They ran to the cars and split into three teams as Ibuki messaged Kai about their plan.

" We'll head on to the first location!"

" Then we'll go to the fifth one!"

" We'll head to the third one!"

" Yeah!"

The cars drove off after that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aichi looked down at the shackles as he tried to open them for the many times he'd attempted to break free. He then glanced up a little at Gastille, who was just sitting right in front of him.

" There's no use trying to break those. Darkface is holding the key so there's no way to unlock it."

Aichi looked away as Gastille reached his hand out and removed the cloth around his mouth.

" What are you planning?"

" Nothing much. If you're curious, you'll just have to see for yourself."

" I heard what you said outside. You're planning to erase my memories? For what reason?"

" You're a sharp one. I suppose since I did say it in front of you, it's not surprising. Do you want to have cup of coffee? You humans like it after all."

" Not thirsty."

" You really love to resist, don't you? Well, once we do something about that, there'll be nothing to worry about."

" I'm going to ask again. Why did you bring me here and what are you going to do to me?"

" ... Since you're so stubborn, alright then."

He clicked his fingers as the room changed to the same space that held Gyze's statue.

" This is...!"

" That's right. Before you stands the Dragon Deity of Destruction, Gyze-sama. He was the one who ordered us to capture you."

Aichi gasped as Gastille continued.

" You, who'd gotten in the way of his plans in the past, is now going to stand by his side."

" In the past?"

" Void. That entity... Its master now stands before you."

" No, then..."

" Void was just a simple stepping stone for you. The first time Gyze-sama laid his eyes on you, he'd seen hidden potential. So, he made Void invade once again to prove your strength."

" Hidden potential?"

" You wanted to know why you're here, right? Why did Gyze-sama even bother to be so interested in just a human? I'll tell you the answer. If he is a god, it would make sense if he had a significant other standing by him, or in human terms, his wife."

Aichi gasped as he started to try to move away.

" Y-You're lying!"

" It's not a lie. You should be honored. For a human to becoming a god's wife, it's a great leap in your life. What's more, Gyze-sama will even grant you eternal life with him. He wants to always see this look and this voice for the rest of eternity. As for you, you'll only be staying by his side as his faithful eternal wife after we get rid of your meddlesome memories."

" No! I won't let you!"

" You don't have a choice. It's your destiny."

" I won't let you erase them! I won't become Gyze's wife!"

" Don't worry, the memory erasure will be painless. All you need to do is close your eyes and sleep once Darkface completes the memory erasure device."

Gastille knocked the back of Aichi's neck as Aichi fainted again. The space turned back to normal as Valeos entered.

" Oh, good timing. Is his room ready?"

" Yeah."

" Then bring him over. He needs ample rest before we put the device on."

Valeos nodded as he carried Aichi again before they left the room to go to another room. Gastille watched on as Valeos laid Aichi down on the bed. There was a ringing noise on their watches.

" What is it?"

" I've completed the perfect memory erasing device! Now, there'll be no problem getting Aichi-sama to our side!"

" I see. We'll start once he comes close to waking up. And since when were you respectful to him? You weren't just now."

" I'll do anything Queen Gredora tells me to, even if it's for a human!"

" I see. Very well then. Bring it over and we'll determine the time to put it on."

" Yes!"

The watches turned off as Gastille chuckled lowly.

* * *

Fifty minutes later, Ibuki and the others were now on the way to the second location written on the map.

" We've been to the other cliffs and saw nothing yet... I sure hope he's okay."

" Sendou's strong. He can make it until we arrive, I'm sure about that..."

 _" He better make it... Or how will I be able to explain to Kai after I failed to protect him?"_ Ibuki thought

" Hang in there, Sendou..." Ibuki muttered

" How long more before we arrive?"

" Two more minutes!"

" Over there!"

In the distance, they could see a mansion above a cliff as they nodded.

" Step on it!"

" Got it!"

Mamoru drove a little faster as they saw a truck in front of the mansion.

" This must be the place!"

" Park somewhere further away. We're sneaking in."

" Right!"

They messaged their other friends before preparing to sneak into the mansion.

" I hope there's no traps..."

" Yeah... Let's go."

They went into the mansion and snuck around hurriedly while searching for Aichi.

" Let's split up and search. I'm sure he's close by somewhere."

" Yeah, let's keep our communications up just in case."

" But our phone's signals were cut off the moment we entered..."

" Then use the communicators I gave. It's better than nothing."

" Right..."

They split themselves up and started searching room by room as Ibuki suddenly heard a voice coming from a room.

" Just a little longer, Bishop Gastille. About a minute left. Yes, I'll bring him over once it's done."

Ibuki peered through the door as he gasped. Aichi's forehead had a device strapped around it as he saw the meter on the monitor Darkface was holding was at 98%. He quickly ran into the room and pushed Darkface again.

" You!"

Ibuki quickly took the machine off Aichi's forehead as it stopped the moment it was removed.

" Sendou! Hang in there, Sendou!"

" Hand him over!"

" Tch!"

Ibuki quickly carried Aichi and ran out of the room. Just as he was about to communicate with the others, they came running from other pathways with robots chasing after them.

" You found him!"

" Yeah! Let's hurry!"

They nodded as they saw the entrance and shut it closed on the robots before running to the car. Mamoru quickly started up the engine and drove off.

" You think he's alright?"

" I don't know... Darkface was doing something to him..."

At a window of the mansion, Gastille and the others were watching them drive off.

" You sure it was a good idea to let them do whatever they please in here?"

" Yeah. It'll be more fun to see their faces once they realize that he... Aichi-sama... has no recollection of them anymore. Isn't that right, Darkface?"

" Yes, Bishop Gastille. By the time Kouji Ibuki saved him, the memory erasure was already at 99%. I'm sure that 1% of failed erasure is nothing of importance to him."

" That's right. He'll come back to us eventually. We'll just need to slowly convince him."

" Yeah."

* * *

Time passed after that as Ibuki and the others waited for Aichi to wake up. While they were gone, Chrono and the others had woken up as they were updated on the situation.

" No way... The Apostles captured him and did something to him?! What did they do?!"

" I don't know... He's still not waking up either."

" I'm going to see him!"

" ... How many hours have passed already?"

" About five hours..."

" They should be here anytime now..."

As soon as he said that, they heard the entrance door slamming open as Kai and the others ran in.

" Kai."

" Where is he?!"

" In the infirmary... He still hasn't woken yet so Chrono went to check up on him..."

Kai said nothing more as he ran to the infirmary.

" You better explain what happened back there."

" I will."

At the same time, Kai was running to the infirmary as he saw Chrono walking out with a downcast expression.

" Shindou! How's Aichi?!"

" Kai-san... He just woke up... But-"

Kai ran past him as he opened the door to see Aichi sitting up on the bed.

" Aichi!"

He ran towards him and stopped just in front of the bed as he checked on Aichi before hugging him.

" What a relief... I was told the Apostles had done something to you and got worried..."

" ... Um..."

Kai flinched as he realised what he was doing before he let Aichi go. He hid a blush before continuing.

" How are you feeling?"

" I'm just fine... So, where am I?"

" You're in the Association's base."

" A base?"

" Yeah. Ibuki and the others brought you back here."

" I'm sorry but... I don't know who you're talking about... And, who are you?"

" What? Aichi... You..."

" Aichi? Is that... my name?"

" No way... Aichi, please... Tell me it's a lie."

" It's not a lie. I... really don't remember anything."

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Chapter 2! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

The others were now gathered in the meeting room while each looking over to Aichi, who was just taking suspicious glances over to them as well.

" Staring at me isn't going to get us anywhere, you know."

" O-Oh, right..."

" You said you guys knew me. Are there any proof to your talk?"

" I can dig up past records of your cardfights over the years. Is that proof enough?"

" That's past records. I need solid evidence that we were even together as friends."

" Uh, will pictures be fine?"

" Well... Alright then."

" Chris, use our phones to show the pictures to him."

" That's basically asking me to hack it, isn't it? Leave it to me. First, I'll show him yours, Kamui."

The screen in front of Aichi lit up with pictures as he slowly went through them.

" Well?"

" ... Nothing."

" Well then... I'll hack into yours now, Misaki-san."

" Yeah."

Aichi did the same thing the moment the screen changed as he sighed.

" Not this either."

" Lastly, Kai's phone."

" Can I not have my picture hacked?'

" And why not?"

" ... Well-"

" You do want him to remember, right?"

" Tch. Fine."

Aichi looked through the pictures again as his eyes slowly narrowed at each pictures.

" You have more pictures than we thought, Kai."

" Shut up."

Aichi looked up at Kai afterwards as they started to stare at each other.

" W-What?"

" You're one disturbing guy..."

" Kai? Disturbing?"

" Let me see the pictures."

" Hold it!"

Kai quickly turned his phone off as the screen went off.

" I only allowed Aichi to take a look. So, anything came up?"

" Unfortunately, other than the pictures of me sleeping, I don't remember anything."

" You just had to say it..."

" Heh... I didn't think you were that kind of guy to take pictures of Aichi-kun sleeping, Kai."

" Shut up! Pretend you didn't hear it!"

" Well, back to the topic of his memories... Is the pictures proof enough?"

" Well... I guess your statements are solid then."

" That's good to hear. So, we just need to find a way to get back those memories. Isn't there anything you can remember?"

" Well... The only memory I can dig up is... Someone giving... a card? He was holding out a card to me. I can't clearly remember his face and voice but that's the only memory I remember."

" That memory..."

Kai quickly took Aichi's deck out and went to hand Blaster Blade to him.

" What?"

" Take it."

Aichi looked up at him before looking at the card. He then moved his hand to take the card before a few flashbacks of his remaining memory came back to him as he froze.

" Aichi?"

" I can't seem to remembered his voice and face... Ugh!"

Aichi clenched his head as he tried to remember the face and voice of the boy who handed him the card that turned his life around.

" Aichi!"

Aichi opened his eyes slowly as he felt tears flowing down his face.

" Tears...?"

His eyes closed again as Kai caught him when he fainted.

" Sendou!"

" Brother!"

Kai was checking on Aichi as the others gathered and waited.

" Looks like he was just exhausted. I'll bring him to the infirmary."

He carried Aichi to the infirmary as he laid him down on the bed while wiping his tears away.

" I'm sorry for not being here to protect you, Aichi."

Kai leaned in before stopping as he moved to kiss Aichi's hand instead.

" I'll make sure to protect you properly this time."

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later as Ibuki came in.

" What is it?"

" It's about Sendou's memories. What happened back there?"

" Aichi... His only memory left is the time when we were children. I gave him Blaster Blade that time so that he could gain courage."

" I see... So he remembered Blaster Blade."

" Not exactly. Otherwise, most of his memories would've returned upon seeing him."

" I guess that makes sense. What do you suppose we do now?"

" I'm going to help him get his memories back, no matter what. And I will protect him from the Apostles this time."

Ibuki nodded as a groan was heard before Aichi opened his eyes.

" Hey. You're awake."

" I'm... back in the infirmary?"

" Yeah. You fainted when I showed you the card."

" Yeah... I kind of had a nostalgic feeling when I saw my only memory. You know, when you handed that card to me... It's as if it's the same thing that happened in my memory."

" That's because it did happen, Aichi. And I swear, I will help you get back your memories."

" Well... Thanks, I guess... Oh, and by the way..."

" What is it?"

" You didn't happen to take another picture of me sleeping, did you?"

" Wha-?!"

Ibuki had to hide a laugh while Kai hid a blush while clearing his throat.

" I-I didn't... I was just watching over you while you slept..."

" Then explain the pictures..."

" You slept over once and..."

" And?"

Kai glanced over to Ibuki at that question as he pushed him out and shut the door.

" And what?"

" And I... I just... found that adorable... In a sense..."

This time, it was Aichi who was hiding a blush.

" O-Oh... I see..."

" Well, anyway... If you can walk already, maybe we can head out to some familiar places to try to get those memories of yours back. I'll lead you all the way."

" It's night though."

" Oh. I forgot about that... Let's head out tomorrow then. I'll stay here to watch over you so that nothing bad happens to you."

" If you're so insistent... I'll head back to sleep then..."

" Good night, Aichi."

" Good night, uh... Oh yeah, I never got to ask for your name."

At that, Kai flinched a little before remembering that Aichi had close to no memories of him anymore.

" I'm Toshiki Kai."

" Then, good night, Kai-san."

Aichi fell asleep as Kai frowned at the change of honorifics and clenched his fists.

" I swear, Aichi... I will get your memories back..."

Kai slept in one of the extra beds in the infirmary as the night deepened. The next morning, Kai woke up and stretched as he saw Aichi already awake and staring at the ceiling.

" Morning, Aichi."

Aichi blinked before turning to him.

" Good morning, Kai-san."

" Had a good rest last night?"

" Yeah."

" That's good. Let's get ready then. I'll bring you to many places today."

" Okay."

Both got up to get ready in the bathroom in the infirmary as Aichi waited for Kai to come out.

" Now that we're ready, let's head out for breakfast."

" I'm not really familiar with the place."

" Then I'll bring you to somewhere for breakfast."

" Okay."

Kai made sure Aichi was always walking beside him as they walked to a restaurant and started eating.

" A little fancy for breakfast, don't you think?"

" You'll need it. We'll be going to a lot of places today."

" Alright..."

They quickly finished up their breakfast before Kai led Aichi to the places they've been to with his car.

" So, you learned how to drive?"

" Yeah."

" Why?"

" I got interested. And besides... I had wanted to use it to bring you to many places, like today. I just wished you never lost your memories."

" I see... Then why do you think I was being sought after by those enemies you guys were talking about in the meeting room?"

" I don't know. It was the first time this ever happened. We thought they were after Shindou and the others again after we freed them from the Relics. You were the only one there protecting them at that time."

" I was?"

" Yeah, from what I heard. I was overseas at that time."

" And you rushed back because of me?"

" ... Yeah. I was worried and scared that we would lose you again."

The car stopped at the traffic light as silence filled the car.

" Again?"

" We've lost you once, about four years ago... It's a long story but let's just say, after that, we started to make sure you wouldn't disappear on us again."

" Oh, I see... Can I ask something?"

" What is it?"

" Why are you doing so much for me? For someone like me, who can't even remember anything, no matter the hard effort you guys put in for me."

" ... Because you are our saviour."

" Saviour?"

" Our precious friend and comrade. You brought out the best in us when we showed our worst. You looked past our worst sides actually and brought those best sides out."

" It sounds complicated but I think I'm starting to understand. Then what about you individually? Why are you doing so much for someone like me, other than being a saviour?"

" ... Let's get to that next time. We're arriving at our first stop."

Aichi turned his head to see the sign 'Card Capital'.

" A cardshop?"

" Yeah. It's where we met again and where everything started for you. Come on."

Kai got out of the car as Aichi did the same and Kai locked his car before they walked to the entrance of the shop.

" Let's head inside."

Suddenly, he felt Aichi gripping the back of his jacket as he looked over to him.

" Are you okay?'

" Y-Yeah... There's just so many people in there."

Kai blinked as he looked over to the entrance but he couldn't see much inside with the glass blocking his view of inside the shop. He shook off the thought and turned back to Aichi.

" Don't worry. I'll be here with you."

Aichi nodded slightly as they entered the shop to see lots of cardfighters.

" Oh. There's a shop tournament today. No wonder there's so many people today."

" Welcome!"

Miwa came out from behind the counter as he grinned upon seeing them.

" Glad you two decided to stop by!"

" It's a busy day today, huh? Where's the Manager?"

" He's getting some new packs and restocking some too. So I'm here to watch over the tournament."

" I see."

" So what's the occasion that you two came here for?"

Kai flinched as he remembered that he'd said nothing to Miwa about Aichi's memory loss.

" Well..."

" Woah! Look, it's Toshiki Kai and Aichi Sendou!"

The kids inside the shop immediately turned to them as they started crowding around them.

" You guys are still popular, I see!"

" Hey, just hold on a minute!"

" U-Um..."

" Can we get your signatures?!"

" Could you help me look through my deck?!"

" Hold on! Don't talk all at once!"

Aichi's grip on Kai's jacket tightened as Kai moved his hand to comfort him as he noticed Aichi loosening his grip a little.

" Good timing though! I was in need of help! Please! Help me out a little!"

" Not the time, Miwa!"

" B-But it does look like he has his hands full..."

" Then that's a yes! Good! Put on these aprons!"

" Wha?! We never said anything!"

" Don't be so mean and just put them on! The tournament's starting!"

Kai clicked his tongue as they put on the apron with no other choice. Miwa then got their attention as he explained the rules of the tournament. Aichi and Kai were then assigned to watch over the fights as Kai took a break after the fifth round since it was now a break time. He looked over to Aichi, who was smiling while talking to one of the kids about the tournament. Miwa came up beside him as he handed him a bottle of water.

" Here."

" Thanks."

Miwa smirked as he leaned on the wall beside Kai.

" I know you kept us here for a reason and it's not just because we're popular nor is it because you couldn't handle this crowd."

" I knew you figured it out. I could handle this anytime. I've been at it for four years after all! So, back to the point, what happened to him?"

" ... While we were out in Hong Kong, Aichi was... Remember I told you I was there for something important? Well, Ibuki told us not to involve too many people but... We're facing an enemy called the Apostles, all of them are Diffriders. Aichi was... captured by them and his memories were erased. We don't know the reason yet but I'm trying to get him to remember as much as I can."

" I see. Don't worry. I'm sure he'll remember everything one day."

" Yeah..."

Aichi finished his talk with the boy as he went over to them as well.

" So, how do you like it?"

" It's a lively tournament. But... How is it that they know me too?"

" Before you lost your memories, you were a famous cardfighter."

" I see. I guess I understand a little now."

" Here. Are you thirsty?"

Miwa handed Aichi a bottle of water as well as Aichi smiled.

" Thank you very much, uh..."

" Taishi Miwa! Miwa is fine too."

" Then, thank you, Miwa-san."

Miwa smirked as he went to continue the tournament. Aichi took a break beside Kai as they watched the tournament continue on.

" Miwa said that we can actually head off anytime we want."

" I see. It's too bad. I wanted to see the end of this tournament."

" We can still stay. We could always head to the other places tomorrow too."

" But..."

" It's fine. If this helps even a little for your memories, then there's no problem."

" Okay then. We should continue helping then."

" Yeah."

Both continued to help Miwa in the shop tournament as it was close to evening by the time the tournament had finished and the players cleared out of the shop.

" Thanks for today, you two!"

" No, I should thank you again, Miwa-san. If it wasn't for you, I might not have understood this wonderful game I'd forgotten."

" No problem! Oh, right! I took the liberty to keep two packs from the new booster that came in! Manager allowed me to. So keep them!"

" Thank you very much!"

" Thanks, Miwa."

" No problem! Now, you two should head out for dinner. It's almost the evening and I'm sure Aichi's pretty hungry from helping in the tournament."

" He's right. Let's go, Aichi."

" Yes. Then, I'll see you again, Miwa-san."

" Yeah, see ya! Thanks for today!"

" Yeah!"

Both left the shop after that as Kai brought Aichi to a small Vanguard cafe he would frequent as they took their orders and waited.

" They even have cafes for this game?"

" Yeah."

Kai took out Aichi's deck from his pocket and handed it to him.

" What's this?"

" Your own deck. You dropped it when you were being taken away. I've been keeping it safe."

Aichi blinked as he took the deck and looked through it.

" They look really cool. So this is a deck of warriors, huh..."

" And they're loyal warriors at that. Especially your avatar."

" Avatar?"

Kai took out Blaster Blade's card from the deck as Aichi looked at it.

" Do you really not remember? He's been by your side and have always been protective over you. I'm sure that he'll be very upset that he couldn't do anything to help regain your erased memories."

" Blaster Blade... He's really worried about me?"

" They're all real. Cray is real. You have a power that connects to these units in that planet."

" Me?"

" Yeah."

" ... Am I able to try it?"

" Maybe."

Aichi breathed out a little as he closed his eyes. Once he opened them, Psyqualia was activated as Aichi looked at his cards before smiling.

" It's true... I can hear their voices..."

" What are they saying?"

" They were worried about me. Especially Blaster Blade..."

" That's great to hear."

Aichi nodded as Kai gasped when he suddenly saw a rainbow tinge to Aichi's Psyqualia.

" Aichi... You know, that power drains your energy quite a bit too. So you shouldn't use it too much either."

" Oh, I see... Alright then."

Aichi deactivated his Psyqualia as he placed the deck beside him once the food arrived. Both started eating as Kai watched Aichi a little before continuing his meal. After they finished their meal, Kai paid for the bill before they went back into the car.

" I could've paid for that since you've been kind enough to bring me around."

" No. I haven't seen you for some time too when we were dealing with the Apostles. I've been travelling around the world, trying to think of a way to stop them after all."

" I see..."

Kai drove the car as Aichi looked out of the window.

" It's getting a little late..."

" Yeah. This is going to be our last stop for the day."

" Okay."

Kai stopped the car as Aichi looked outside again.

" A park?"

" There's... our story in it."

" Our story?"

They got out of the car as he helped Aichi to get out of the car as well. Aichi looked around as Kai came beside him.

" This is where we first met. And it's kind of like my resting spot when I was still in high school."

" So you basically like to skip school?"

" W-Well..."

" ... Continue with your story then."

" R-Right... Let's go and sit down first."

Kai brought Aichi to the bench he usually naps on as he sat down while signalling Aichi to do the same.

" I've always been sleeping on this bench. Once you entered high school, you started a Cardfight Club there and when you would be happy, you'd be right in front of me and tell me all about your day. I always pretended I never listened but the truth is... I've always listened to them, each and every one of them. I was able to then feel the same way as you do whenever I listen to them."

" So how did we first meet?"

" ... When you were young, I reckon you were always bullied from the way you had injuries all over you. I decided to give you Blaster Blade."

" Blaster Blade?"

" I don't know what made me want to but when I think about it now, maybe... Maybe it was so that you could bring me out of my solitude life."

" Solitude?"

" I lost my parents a few days afterwards. From then on, I've been alone living with my uncle. I did meet new friends in the town I moved to. Ren and Tetsu, I think you've seen them yesterday."

" I'm sorry to hear that... As for those two you mentioned, I think I do remember them introducing themselves."

" But then when I grew up to be more independent, I moved back and bought an apartment. That's when I met you again after those few years."

" I see..."

" You've changed my life since then, Aichi. I was too stubborn to admit it though. But then, a certain incident confirmed my true feelings for you."

" Incident?"

" I'll get to that next time, it's a really long story."

" Okay. Then what about the true feelings you said?"

Kai blushed lightly as he turned away a little.

" Kai-san?"

Suddenly, Aichi's lips connected with Kai's as his eyes widened. At first, he felt like pushing him away for the sudden kiss but his body had started melting into the kiss by itself. Kai released the kiss after awhile as both gazed at each other for a few moments as they turned away shyly.

" S-Sorry..."

" N-No... It's fine..."

Silence filled the air as Kai decided to change the topic.

" S-So, it's getting really late. We should head back before the others get worried."

" S-Sure..."

They headed back to the car as silence started filling the air inside again after their moment in the park.

" So... Uh, Kai-san... I think I understood those feelings you had for me back at the park..."

" O-Oh... I'm sorry if that offended you a little."

" It did at first. But then my body didn't listen to me and I just... sort of liked the kiss anyway."

" ... You mean it?"

" Yeah... It's as if... I already knew the answer to your feelings long ago."

Kai stopped the car at the side of the road after hearing that.

" And... That answer is...?"

" ... I guess... Yes."

Kai unbuckled his seat belt as he did the same for Aichi before moving closer to him and hugging him.

" Thank you, Aichi."

" Kai-san... At first, I wasn't sure because I only had that one blurred memory left... But after being with you today, I know... Everything that you've done today is for my sake. So I should be the one thanking you for helping me..."

Kai then heard a sniffle as he felt his shirt getting slightly wet.

" ... I'm sorry... I can't even remember anything, even after you've done so much for me today..."

" But your body remembers, Aichi. I'm sure as time passes, you'll be able to remember things again. I'll always stay by your side."

" Yeah..."

Kai released the hug as he wiped the tears off Aichi's face.

" Now, we should head back soon."

" Um... Can I stay at where you're staying now?"

" ... Sure. I'll contact Ibuki and the others."

Aichi smiled and nodded as they buckled up again and Kai drove back to his apartment.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Chapter 3! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

Kai woke up from the blinding rays from the sun as he opened his eyes and closed the remaining gap on his curtains. He turned to his side as he saw Aichi still asleep and smiled. He checked the time and got up as he stretched his arms before yawning. He then got off the bed and pulled up the blanket for Aichi again before going to the bathroom. Once he was done getting ready, he prepared breakfast as he glanced over to the bed to find Aichi missing.

" Aichi?"

Kai turned off the stove and took off his apron before rushing to the bed when he stopped the moment he saw Aichi behind the wall just beside the kitchen and sighed in relief.

" What are you doing over there?"

" ... U-Uh... Watching you cook? ... Good morning..."

" Morning. And you should tell me when you get out of bed, you scared me for a few seconds there. Go and get ready. We'll be heading out after breakfast."

" Okay..."

Aichi went into the bathroom to get ready for the day as he came out soon after Kai finished making their breakfast.

" Sit down and have your breakfast."

" Okay."

Both started eating their breakfast as Kai smiled a little after watching Aichi eating so happily.

" Slow down, Aichi. You're going to choke on your food."

" I-I'm sorry... B-But it's really delicious..."

As Aichi and Kai continued eating, that was when...

 _" Aichi."_

Aichi stopped eating for awhile before looking around.

" Is something wrong, Aichi?"

" No... I thought I heard someone calling my name..."

" Calling you?"

" Yeah."

 _" Aichi Sendou. My precious fiancée, Aichi Sendou."_

 _" Fiancée?"_

 _" That's right. Don't worry, my Apostles will retrieve you from the humans soon."_

 _" Apostles?"_

 _" You'll know in due time. Just wait for me, my precious fiancée."_

 _" What do you mean by fiancée?"_

 _" We are due to get married once I arrive and then I will give you back the memories the humans stole from you."_

 _" The memories the humans stole...?"_

 _" That's right. Humans stole your memories. You are meant to be with me. So, don't believe the humans and their lies."_

 _" I... I..."_

" Aichi!"

Aichi snapped out of his thoughts as he turned to Kai, who was right beside him.

" You scared me! You suddenly stopped responding to me!"

" I-I'm sorry..."

" No, it's okay, Aichi. Are you feeling alright? We don't have to go out today if you're not."

" No, I'm fine... I just..."

" You said something about someone calling you, what did it say?"

" I..."

" ... Aichi. Do you trust me?"

" Huh?"

" As a lover and as someone who cares for you, do you trust me?"

" I do, I really do but..."

" What did that thing tell you?"

" ... It told me... Not to trust humans... And that I was its fiancée..."

" Fiancée?"

" It said that humans took my memories... And the Apostles will retrieve me..."

" Apostles?! What else did it say, Aichi?!"

" I-It said that when it arrives, I would be due to marry it..."

Kai's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth.

" I'm not going to lose you again... Not to those guys..."

" Kai... san?"

" Don't worry, Aichi. I know you're very confused right now because of it. I swear, I will get your real memories back for you. No way am I going to let fake memories be implanted into you."

" Kai-san..."

" Now, let's continue eating. After breakfast, let's head outside."

" Y-Yeah..."

They quickly finished eating after that as they headed out after that. Kai drove his car to the many places they've been to before as Aichi shook his head after each attempt to get his memories back. Kai stayed silent as the car stopped at a traffic light after awhile.

" I'm sorry, Kai-san."

" It's okay. We'll just keep doing this until at least one of your memories come back."

" Is this really alright?"

" Hm? I told you before, you're not troubling me."

" Not that... It's about me being with you as I currently am."

" What do you mean?"

" You're acting so desperately, trying to get my lost memories back but nothing helped at all. What if they don't come back at all? What if I'm not the Aichi Sendou you think I am? What if... I'm really someone else's fiancée?"

" That's not true! You're Aichi and Aichi's you! That's all... You just need more time."

" ... I'm sorry. What you're looking for is the old me with those memories, it's not the current me."

Aichi opened the door as he left the car. Kai gasped as he quickly parked the car to the side, where it wouldn't obstruct the traffic as he got out of the car and locked it before chasing after Aichi.

" Aichi, wait!"

Aichi stopped in his tracks as Kai stopped as well behind him.

" I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd think this way. But it's not true! The person I'm looking for _is_ you, both the old and current one! There's nothing different! I still love the same person!"

" ... No. Right now, you're just looking for the me with those memories. Otherwise, these desperate actions of yours wouldn't be so obvious. You brought me to familiar place with your memories of the other me. That's the truth. If you weren't, you would've been doing the same things as you did yesterday. Just plainly having fun and taking it one at a time. It's funny how you could change so quickly with those few words at breakfast. I'll just go on alone, trying to find the me with those memories, so that you can be happy again. I'm sorry for troubling you, Kai-san. I had fun. I'll see you when I see you."

Kai ran over to Aichi as he hugged him from behind.

" Let me go."

" No."

" Please just let me go!"

" I won't!"

Sniffles were heard as Kai noticed the tears flowing down Aichi's cheeks.

" Why...? I'm only hurting you more if I stay like this... There's not even a guarantee that I could even regain my memories... Why can't you just let me go...?"

" ... It's my fault that I made you think this way. I'm really sorry, Aichi. I won't be desperate anymore. You're right, I was too desperate for the you with our memories today after I heard that the Apostles are trying to give you false memories. I never considered your feelings at all. Just give me another chance to make up for it."

" ... But..."

" Let's make new memories together, Aichi. Just like yesterday. I told you before, I'm not going to let you go ever again. I can't lose you again, not by my own mistake either."

" New memories...?"

" Yeah, let's make new memories together. This time, without trying too hard and slowly taking everything one step at a time. I do, I really do love you, Aichi. And I've never wanted to hurt your feelings. I'm really sorry. From now on, I just want to make you happy. Let's forget about trying to regain your memories for now."

Kai turned Aichi to face him as he wiped the tears away from Aichi's eyes. Kai leaned in to kiss Aichi as they slowly shut their eyes. That was when Kai sensed a presence as he looked up.

" Kai-san?"

Kai looked around as he finally saw a black car with a familiar face inside watching them.

" Come on!"

Kai grabbed Aichi's hand as they ran back to the car. Kai let Aichi into the car first as he quickly went to the driver's seat and started up the car.

" Kai-san, what's wrong?"

" They're here."

" Who's here?"

" Those Apostles that erased your memories. They're trying to take you away. I'm not going to let that happen. We're getting out of here. Put on your seat belt and hold on tight."

" R-Right..."

Aichi put on his seat belt as Kai quickly drove off. He looked at the rear view mirror as he narrowed his eyes after seeing the black car chasing after them.

" Aichi. Help me contact Ibuki. We need help right now."

" Y-Yes! It's in your phone, right?!"

" Yeah."

Aichi grabbed Kai's phone as he searched for Ibuki's contact and waited as the call rang. Ibuki soon picked up the call after two rings.

 _" Kai?"_

" I-Ibuki-san..."

 _" Sendou? Why are you using Kai's phone?"_

" H-He's driving right now and he asked me to contact you because those Apostles are chasing right behind us..."

 _" What?! Where are you guys right now?! I'll head right over with Anjou!"_

" U-Uh... We're near Tokyo Tower..."

 _" We'll head over there as fast as we can! Just try to get them off your back!"_

" Y-Yes..."

Aichi put down the call as Kai turned to him.

" What did he say?"

" He said that he's coming over with Anjou-san right now... He said to try to get them off our trail as much as we can..."

" I'm trying but nothing's working."

Suddenly, the back of the car was knocked by the black car as Kai tried to stabilise his driving again.

" Hang on tight, Aichi!"

" Y-Yeah!"

Another knock from the black car caused Kai's car to swerved towards the pavement of the Tokyo Tower as they hit a street light pole. Kai opened his eyes after the impact as he turned to Aichi.

" Aichi... Are you okay...?"

Aichi opened his eyes as he turned to Kai.

" Kai-san..."

" Come on... We need to get out of here..."

Kai removed his seat belt before removing Aichi's as he pulled him to his side as he opened the door and got out before carrying Aichi in his arms. He then saw the Apostles coming out of the black car as he started walking to the tower.

" Kai-san...?"

" Don't worry... I won't let them take you away from me..."

Kai entered the tower as his legs finally gave out and he fell on the stairs. He shifted so that Aichi wouldn't get hurt further before hitting the ground as his forehead got cut a little before bleeding.

" Kai-san...!"

" I'm okay..."

" B-But you're bleeding...!"

" I'm fine... You need to get out of here... Don't worry about me..."

Aichi tried to get up to help Kai as he fell back to the ground before holding his ankle in pain.

" What's wrong...?"

" I... I think my right ankle got twisted in the collision..."

" I see... Come on... Get on my back..."

" B-But you're injured too...!"

" Get on...!"

Kai got up as he let Aichi climb on his back. He continued his way up the stairs as he heard footsteps just below the stairs.

" You alright, Aichi...?"

" Yes... But I'm more worried about you..."

" I'm fine..."

Kai found a hole near another staircase to hide under as he walked over to it and they hid in the shadows. Using the boxes near it, they hid and stayed silent as the footsteps drew closer to the level they were at. The Apostles then came into view as they looked around for the two.

" Where could they have hidden in this small tower?!"

" Calm down, Darkface."

" Either way, they don't seem to be hiding anywhere obvious. You think they'll be behind those boxes?"

" Let's check."

The two flinched as the Apostles drew closer to them. That was when they heard Ibuki's voice.

" Kai! Sendou!"

Ibuki and Mamoru ran up the stairs as they saw the Apostles.

" You!"

" The Messiah's Vanguard. Looks like it's not the time yet. We'll retrieve Aichi-sama again at another time. Let's retreat."

" Yes."

They left as Ibuki and Mamoru looked around.

" Kai! Sendou!"

Kai sighed as he closed his eyes and fainted as Aichi gasped.

" Kai-san!"

They heard Aichi's exclamation as the two ran to see Aichi trying to shake Kai awake.

" Kai!"

" Sendou-kun!"

" Please, help me! Kai-san is..."

" Don't worry. We'll get him treated. Anjou, help Sendou. I'll get Kai."

" Right."

Mamoru helped Aichi up as Ibuki got Kai's arm around his shoulder. They went to Ibuki's car as Mamoru got Aichi in the passenger seat while Ibuki got Kai on the back seat.

" I'll clear Kai-kun's car up and get it repaired so that no one will see it. We're already lucky there's no one around here."

" I'm counting on you. I'll see you back at the base."

" Yeah."

Ibuki nodded as he drove off to the base. The doctors at the base took Kai and Aichi, who'd fallen asleep in the middle of the ride, into the infirmary as Ibuki waited outside. Chrono and the others came running as well.

" Ibuki! How are they?!"

" The doctors are still checking on them."

The doctors came out right after he said that as Ibuki approached one of them.

" How are they?"

" Kai-san and Sendou-san just suffered a few cuts and bruises, but Sendou-san has fractured his ankle in the collision and will have to rest up so that it'll heal. As for the forehead injury on Kai-san's forehead, it's nothing too serious and there's no signs of infection either so it's safe to say that both of them are just fine."

" Thank goodness..."

" Can we head inside?"

" Of course."

" Thank you, doctor."

They headed into the infirmary as Kai woke up soon after and looked around.

" This place is..."

" The infirmary at the base. I got the doctors to check up on you guys. Luckily, there's no major injury other than Sendou's fractured ankle and that wound on your forehead."

" How's Aichi doing...?"

" He's sleeping. Don't worry."

" I don't know... He might blame himself for what happened after he wakes up..."

" True. Sendou's always like that."

" Could you put my bed beside him...? At least I can talk to him easier..."

" Alright."

With Chrono's help, Ibuki pushed Kai's bed until it was right beside Aichi's bed as Kai thanked them before they exited the infirmary to let the two have more rest without disruption. Aichi groaned after a few more hours as he opened his eyes.

" Hey, you're awake."

" Kai-san..."

Aichi immediately got up to hug him as Kai patted his back.

" It's okay."

" I-I was so worried when you fainted... I thought that... I got you injured badly..."

" No, it's not your fault."

" B-But it's my fault that those guys chased after us because of me... If you weren't with me, you wouldn't have been injured..."

" But I'm fine now, aren't I?"

" B-But what if they come again? And then you got even more major injuries than this? I don't want to lose you either, Kai-san..."

" I won't, Aichi. This is also for the sake of protecting you. I would give up my life for you if I had to."

" Please, don't say that. Just stay alive for me, do me this favour."

" Aichi... Okay, then do me a favour too in exchange."

" What is it?"

" Call me by my first name."

" Huh?"

" Toshiki. Call me Toshiki."

" But I..."

" You can do it. Just call me by Toshiki."

" A-Alright... T-Toshiki-san..."

" No, not 'san'."

" U-Uh... Toshiki... kun?"

" Much better."

" By the way, where are we?"

" Ibuki brought us back to the base. We're in the infirmary after the doctors checked on us. Looks like we only have somewhat minor injuries. Mine is only the cut on my forehead but yours..."

" Is it my ankle?"

" Yeah, it's fractured. You'll need plenty of rest and not move too much."

" Oh... Then, we can't go outside anymore?"

" I'm guessing not for now. We need to get that ankle recovered first, alright?"

" Okay. You'll stay with me, won't you?"

" Of course. I won't leave your side."

" Besides, this way, I'll also be able to make sure you don't do anything reckless."

" I should be the one to say that. Are you thirsty? I got some strength back so I can get some water from the table beside me."

" Okay. Thank you, Toshiki-kun."

" No problem."

Kai got up and took the water jug from the table beside him. He then poured the water into a glass before handing it to Aichi after he sat up.

" Want more?"

" No, it's fine. You should drink some too. You must've been watching over me for a long time."

" I guess I'll take up on the offer."

Kai drank from the glass after pouring more water out of the jug as he placed the glass down on the table again before sitting beside Aichi again.

" So, what do you think we can do for now?"

" Hm... Oh!"

Aichi searched his pockets as he found his deck case.

" Um... I know this might upset you but... Can you teach me again...?"

" Of course. I'll go step by step slowly."

" Yeah!"

They set their decks and field up accordingly to Kai's instructions as Aichi was taught how to play step by step.

" This is really fun!"

" But you just started."

" But my heart couldn't stop pounding in excitement the moment we flipped up the first Vanguard... I'm sure I always felt like this in the past."

" Yeah, you definitely did in the past."

Both smiled before continuing their match as there was a knock on the door soon after.

" Come in."

Chrono came in after a few moments as he smiled in relief.

" What a relief. Looks like the both of you are better."

" Yeah."

" What are the both of you doing?" Chrono ask as he walked over to them, " Vanguard?"

" Aichi wanted to learn so I'm teaching him right now."

" I see."

" I know this is a bit late but could I ask for your name?"

" Huh? Y-Yeah... I'm Chrono Shindou. You can just call me Chrono."

" I see. So, Chrono-kun, was it?"

" Yes."

" You play Vanguard too?"

" Yes. I play the Gear Chronicle clan."

" Gear Chronicle?"

" It's a deck that has a strategy based on manipulating time and space. Well, you'll get to know it once you play against it but for one, just concentrate on learning more about your deck again."

" Okay."

" Then, you guys won't mind if I stay here and watch, right?"

" What about your job?"

" Ibuki asked me to stay here anyway. I've somewhat explained the situation to Shin-san. The Apostles are still on the loose after all. We'll never know when they'll come back."

" ... True. I heard Tokura and Kamui brought the two boys back to Hong Kong."

" Oh, yeah. They needed to investigate more since one of the Apostle's base was there after all."

" That's true. But there's still no news?"

" No. I don't think it'll be that soon too. It takes time to travel and investigate after all."

" You're right."

Kai looked back at Aichi after finishing his talk as he noticed him nodding off.

" Hey, Aichi?"

" Y-Yeah?"

" You okay?"

" Yeah..."

" You should take a break if you're tired. We can continue this tomorrow."

" No, I'm fine..."

" But you do look quite tired, Aichi-san. Just rest. You had a long day today."

" But..."

" It's fine. I'll keep your deck so just lie down and sleep."

Kai laid Aichi down on his pillow as he pulled up the blanket over him.

" I'm sorry, Toshiki-kun..."

" It's fine. Now, close your eyes and sleep."

" Yes... Goodnight, Toshiki-kun, Chrono-kun..."

" Goodnight."

" Goodnight, Aichi-san."

Aichi slowly closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep as Kai started keeping their decks.

" So how is it?"

" Still nothing. But I've decided to take it slow. As he currently is, I don't want to put too much pressure on him either."

" But Ibuki told me that the Apostles might've been aiming for this chance... Like, since he doesn't have any memories, they're trying to trick him over to their side."

" I won't let that happen. I'll make sure to watch over him. You should make sure you protect yourself. You almost became Gyze's vessel after all."

" Y-Yeah..."

" ... Also, I haven't told Ibuki yet but this morning, apparently Gyze was communicating with Aichi."

" What?!"

" I don't know how but it's probably because of his Psyqualia. Anyway, what troubled me about what Gyze said to him was that he was Gyze's fiancée."

" Fiancée?!"

" Yeah. I would think that that's exactly why his memories were erased in the first place."

" So that he could be Gyze's fiancée?"

" Yeah. I don't know for what reason but there's definitely something about Aichi that attracted Gyze's attention. Although, I'm not going to investigate on that yet. I want my first priority to be protecting and making sure his memories come back first."

" Then I'll tell Ibuki about this. Maybe Nome Tatsunagi might know something about this."

" Maybe. I'll leave that part up to you guys if you're curious."

" Leave it to us."

Kai nodded after keeping the decks as they looked back at the sleeping Aichi.

 _~ Aichi's dream start~_

 _Aichi looked around the dark space he was in as he searched for a source of light that would bring him relief and comfort but to no avail._

 _" I'm scared... I'm scared, Toshiki-kun..."_

 _As tears started to form in his eyes, a bright light suddenly appeared as his eyes widened._

 _" What...?"_

 _Step by step and lured by the light, he reached out for it as he was soon engulfed by the light. As he slowly opened his eyes again, he was soon at the park Kai brought him to before as he saw two children in front of him, this time, their faces were clear._

 _" That's... Me and Toshiki-kun?"_

 _' Here, take this. That's a pretty strong warrior there. What? Cheer up! Listen... Picture it in your mind. Picture yourself big and strong, like the warrior in that card!'_

 _' I-I can't...'_

 _' Well, sure, at first. But if you can picture it, one day you'll get that strength!'_

 _' Get strong..."_

 _' Your vision can become your power!'_

 _" Your vision can become your power... Blaster Blade... Toshiki-kun..."_

 _As Aichi reached out for the two children, darkness suddenly surrounded the bright park._

 _" You won't remember."_

 _" Who are you?!"_

 _" I won't allow you to remember. You belong to me!"_

 _Aichi gasped as the child Kai suddenly started getting engulfed by darkness._

 _" No!"_

 _" With this, you won't remember him!"_

 _" No! Don't take it away! Don't take away my precious memory!"_

 _Aichi's Psyqualia glowed in his eyes as the darkness started to dispel._

 _" What?!"_

 _" Stay away! I won't let you take it away from me!"_

 _The light soon engulfed everything again._

 _~ Aichi's dream end~_

Aichi woke up with a start as he looked around and found himself in Kai's embrace.

" A dream..."

" Aichi?"

Aichi looked up as he saw Kai awake and looking down at him worriedly.

" Toshiki-kun..."

" What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Aichi buried his face in Kai's chest after that as he started to sniffle while Kai comforted him.

" What happened, Aichi? You can tell me."

" I had a dream about my only memory... I remembered your face and Blaster Blade... But... Something tried to erase that again... I'm scared..."

Kai felt relief the moment he heard that Aichi was able to fully remember their first meeting but soon frowned when he realised that someone was still out there to erase that memory.

" _Gyze must be_ _at_ _it_ _again..."_ Kai thought

" It's okay, Aichi. I'll make sure no one tries to erase that memory again. Head back to sleep now or you'll be tired."

" But... What if I dream about it again?"

" Don't worry, you won't. Trust me, alright?"

" Yeah..."

Aichi fell back asleep as Kai rubbed his back just in case Aichi would be scared again before falling asleep as well.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Chapter 4! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

A few days after the incident, Kai had completely recovered while Aichi was still recuperating his broken ankle with Kai helping him along the way.

" Slowly. Take it one step at a time."

Aichi tried to walk as he took a few steps forward cautiously.

" How is it? Does it still hurt?"

" No... It's just still feels a little numb..."

" That's good. That means it's recovering well."

Kai helped Aichi to sit back on the bed as he pouted.

" What's wrong?"

" I wanted to walk more... We've been stuck in the infirmary for so long too..."

" But you can't walk too much either or your ankle will never recover. Quit making that sulky face, alright?"

" Yes..."

Kai smiled a little as he remembered something and took out a small pouch.

" What's that?"

" Your Christmas present."

" Christmas present?"

" Yeah. I went out once to get it for you."

Kai opened the pouch and took out a necklace before wearing it around Aichi's neck. Aichi touched the ornament on the necklace while looking at it. It was a simple silver heart supported by a silver chain.

" It's a locket."

" Huh?"

" Open it."

Aichi opened the latch on the locket as he saw a picture of him and Kai together smiling in the picture while facing the camera.

" But this picture..."

" Yeah. I took it for this locket."

" That wasn't too long ago either... It was after you recovered from your wound and you took me to the garden outside."

" Yeah."

" ... Thank you, Toshiki-kun... I-I'm sorry..."

Aichi suddenly started crying as Kai started comforting him again.

" What's wrong? Why did you suddenly cry?"

" Because... Because you keep doing so many things for me and yet all I ever did was put you in danger trying to protect me... And, I still can't get back my memories..."

" It's fine, Aichi. At the very least, your only memory is clear to you now. That's an improvement in itself."

" Y-Yeah... I-I promise... I'll do my very best...!"

" I know you will. But don't force yourself too much... Don't worry, I'll stay by your side."

" Yeah!"

Kai wiped away Aichi's tears as they hugged for a few moments.

" Thank you, Toshiki-kun... For always staying with me..."

" It's my duty as your lover, Aichi. There's no need to thank me."

" But still... I'm still glad I'm with you."

" I'm glad too."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door as they released their hug.

" Come in."

Chrono entered the infirmary after that.

" Excuse the intrusion, Aichi-san, Kai-san."

" Oh, Shindou. What is it?"

" Oh, actually... We'll be holding a celebration party for Makoto and Arata's return from Hong Kong and a Christmas party on top of it at Card Capital 2. So I was wondering if you guys wanna come too."

" I don't actually mind. What about Toshiki-kun?"

" ... Actually, I have plans for Christmas with Aichi. Although, it might be too early since his ankle still needs a few more days to recover. But then again, I still want to make this a fun Christmas for him."

" I see. It's too bad, they said that Santa-san would be coming too."

At that, Kai tried to hide a small smirk.

" Huh? But wasn't Santa-san going to be-"

Kai quickly covered Aichi's mouth as Chrono blinked in confusion.

" It's nothing. Go on ahead and celebrate without us. If we have time after our own small celebration, then we might head over for a bit."

" O-Okay. Then, sorry for the interruption. I hope you have a good rest and recover quickly, Aichi-san."

Chrono exited the infirmary as Aichi was finally able to remove Kai's hand from his mouth.

" Why did you stop me?"

" And let you tell Shindou that Ibuki was going to have to dress up as Santa because Anjou requested him to? Might as well keep it as a surprise."

" Well... I guess you're right. To be honest, I can't really imagine Ibuki-san in a Santa costume either. He even looked so stressful when he was handed the bag with the costume."

Aichi giggled at the thought of Ibuki's perplexed expression after he'd received the bag from Mamoru earlier in the day when he'd came to visit them. Kai chuckled lightly at the thought as well.

" I do feel a little bad that we're even laughing about it ever so slightly though..."

" Come on, with all that guy's done, this counts as a small little revenge from Anjou for always keeping secrets."

" I see... By the way, what's this small celebration for Christmas you wanted to do with me, Toshiki-kun?"

" You'll see once it's Christmas."

" That's not fair. Why must it be until then?"

Kai smiled as he patted Aichi's head, which caused Aichi's small pout to disappear and turn into a small pink flush on his cheeks.

" It's Christmas after all."

" Okay..."

A few days passed after that as it was soon Christmas Eve. Kai had gotten off a car provided by Ibuki while his own car was still being repaired as he helped Aichi, after blindfolding him with a cloth on the way, onto a wheelchair after unfolding it from the car.

" Hey, Toshiki-kun. When can I take this blindfold off?"

" Not yet. Just wait a little longer. We're arriving soon."

Soon, Kai stopped the wheelchair as Aichi felt his hands letting go of the handles.

" Toshiki-kun? Are you there?"

" I'm here. Don't be afraid. Now, you can slowly take the blindfold off."

Aichi did as told as he slowly opened his eyes right after the blindfold was removed. His eyes shifted to look around as they shone with awe and amazement.

" Amazing..."

In front of him was a big Christmas tree, lit up with sparkling decorations and lights, in a garden and when he looked to his side, a simple house with two storeys was there. Just right in front of the tree was Kai, with one of his hands behind his back.

" This is amazing, Toshiki-kun! But would it be alright to be doing this outside of someone else's house?"

" It's not anyone's house. It's ours."

" Ours?"

Kai nodded as Aichi looked at the house again.

" But... You didn't..."

" This house... Was actually my sorry excuse of a reason to keep you near me when I never confessed yet. It wasn't done renovating yet, so you never knew about it. In fact, you had already mentioned that you'd agree to live with me and become independent when I brought it up once... So..."

" Toshiki-kun..."

" ... Four years... For four years, I've been holding it all in. I'm sure you'd been the same for four whole years, and that's how you'd ended up like this. So... For these feelings we had kept in for four years, Aichi..." Kai suddenly knelt down on his knee as he took out a small black box and opened it to reveal a plain silver ring, " I know this isn't worth much as compared to how much you've suffered for me, but, I want to swear to you now that I would protect you forever. Aichi... Will you marry me?"

Tears started to pool Aichi's eyes once more as he nodded without a single hesitation, " Yes... I'd be happy to..."

Kai smiled as he slipped the ring into Aichi's right ring finger and they hugged.

" It doesn't matter whether or not you're the old or new Aichi, I'll still be with you forever."

" Me too, Toshiki-kun..."

As they hugged a little longer, the same voice from a few days ago came back into Aichi's head.

 _" Just a little more! Just a little more and we could've been reunited!"_

Aichi gasped as he pulled away from Kai.

" Aichi?"

 _" Don't accept it! You're supposed to marry me! Not a wretched human! You're supposed to be my wife, my Queen!"_

Aichi clenched his head as he shook it.

" No!"

" Aichi, what's wrong?!"

 _" Take that ring off! I'm supposed to wear a ring on you! I'm supposed to be your spouse! Not him!"_

" Get out! Get out of my head! Stop calling me!"

" Aichi! Aichi, can you hear me?!"

 _" Listen carefully! You're_ **my** _fiancee, a fiancee to the Dragon Deity of Destruction! No human should take that place other than me! You're destined to be with me!"_

" No! I don't know you! I don't like you! I know who I love! I know who I want to be with! So, get out of my head! Stay away from me!"

" Aichi!"

Aichi's eyes snapped open as he held Kai's hands while his whole body trembled and tears of fear now pooled in his eyes.

" Please... Toshiki-kun... Get it out... Get that voice out of my head... Please... I don't want to hear it anymore..."

" Aichi, it's okay. I'll make sure it leaves you, alright? As long as you're with me, you'll be fine. I won't let that thing take you away from me."

" Toshiki-kun..."

Aichi fainted after calling his name as Kai quickly caught him.

" Aichi!"

Kai looked at Aichi's distressed expression as he clicked his tongue. He quickly whipped out his phone and dialled a number. It took a few rings before the recipient answered.

" Hello, Kai?"

" Leon. I need your help."

 _" Your wind feels distressed. Did something happen to Sendou?"_

" ... Yeah."

 _" I see. Explain everything to me later. I'll be coming over now. Where are you?"_

" You know the new house I bought?"

 _" The one you were planning to use to keep Sendou close to you?"_

" Yeah, that house."

 _" Seeing that you're not reacting much to my tease, it's obvious this is urgent. Just wait for a bit. I'll be coming over soon."_

" Yeah, thanks."

Kai put down the call as he laid Aichi back on the wheelchair before carefully wheeling it into the house. He laid Aichi on the bed in their room as he waited. That was when a call came and he answered.

" Hello, Chris? What?! Ibuki's missing?!"

 _" Yeah. I was having a small talk with him while he was on the way to the party but then the signal suddenly cut off! Think you could help us find him a little?!"_

" ... I have a problem on my own hands here."

 _" What happened? Is Aichi's memory...?"_

" No, his current memories are still safe. But it seems like Gyze's communication is getting worse... I can't leave him alone like this."

 _" ... I understand. Do you need some help from me?"_

" No, it's fine. Just focus on searching for Ibuki. Once I manage to settle the situation on this side, I'll try to head over too."

 _" Don't need to rush yourself. Aichi still needs you after all."_

" I know. Contact me if there's any news."

 _" I got it."_

Kai hung the phone up again as he sighed at the latest events happening. Soon, there was a knock on the door as he went to open it after making sure it was Leon at the doorstep.

" How is he?"

" He's still asleep. I think the shock from all the communications from Gyze is getting to him."

" Gyze? Kai, explain yourself. Isn't Gyze-"

He was cut off by Aichi's screams as Kai ran up the stairs and opened the room door. He quickly hugged Aichi to calm him down as Aichi soon stopped.

" It's okay, I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."

" Toshiki-kun... I... I..."

" Tell me what happened, Aichi. Did you have a nightmare or did that voice come back again?"

" It tried to erase my memories again... I don't know how long I can keep on trying to make it stop... Please, Toshiki-kun... Make it stop... Please make it stop..."

" It's alright, Aichi. I'm here with you. Maybe... Maybe this friend of ours can help out."

" Friend?"

Kai nodded as he turned to the door. Aichi's eyes followed him as he saw Leon.

" Come in."

Leon nodded as Kai explained what was happening to Aichi.

" I see. So the Apostles erased his memories but he still managed to hang onto the memory with his first meeting with you. But even so, Gyze is still trying to trick him and bring him to his side. That's the gist of the situation, isn't it?"

" Yeah. Oh, right. Aichi, this is Leon Souryu. He also possesses the same ability like you, Psyqualia. Leon, I'll be frank with you. Aichi's Psyqualia has been different lately."

" How different?"

" The color turned into a rainbow instead of its usual blue. But I don't see any changes to the power it bears to his previous blue Psyqualia."

" ... I see. A rainbow Psyqualia. One similar to Takuto's Psyqualia, huh..."

Kai nodded as Aichi just blinked in confusion.

" Takuto...?"

" I'll tell you who he is later. But he was the one who gave you Psyqualia."

" I see... But thanks to that, I could hear the units' voices..."

" Yeah. And? Is it also why he's been hearing Gyze's voice?"

" To be honest, we should only be able to hear the voice of our own decks and clan. Sendou, have you seen anything out of the ordinary lately?"

" Well... Oh, the first time Toshiki-kun brought me to Card Capital. There was so many small lights and I saw human figures surrounding each one of them."

" Small lights? Human figures? ... Souls?"

" Now that I think about it, I couldn't see anything since the glass was still blocking me. I still wonder how he could see through the glass."

" Maybe... He didn't see through the glass. He saw the souls inside, that's how he knew that there were lots of people inside."

" Souls?"

" Was that what they were? They disappeared right after we entered the shop though..."

" ... Let's solve that later. First, I want to see how Gyze's talking to you inside your head. Look at my eyes."

Aichi did as told as Leon activated his Psyqualia and saw the image he was looking for.

" I knew it. I'm guessing that while the memory erasure was ongoing, they also implanted Gyze's mark inside of him so that Gyze could monitor his every move and talk to him. However, it somewhat backfired when he was rescued with one remaining memory and him being with you, Kai. From there, Gyze had been trying to trick him over to his side but it still didn't work and it's now working on trying to erase his memories."

" Please... If there's anything you can do to help me... I just want it to stop... I don't want to lose my memories again..."

" Sendou... If you have the will, it'll be possible to remove the mark. Your Psyqualia has been powerful enough to keep warding off Gyze's memory erasure, so it should be powerful enough to remove the mark. I'll back you up, so close your eyes and search deep within your mind for that mark."

Aichi nodded as he closed his eyes and Leon did the same.

" Imagine that mark and let it appear. Once it does, activate your Psyqualia and destroy it."

 _" You'll regret this, Aichi! You're supposed to be with me! Don't believe the humans! Believe in me and the Apostles!"_

Aichi flinched upon hearing the voice as he tried to open his eyes again.

" Don't open them! Don't waver, Sendou! This is your only chance to remove it from your head! You really want to let it torment you everyday?!"

Aichi shut his eyes again as he activated his Psyqualia. Suddenly, he felt Kai's warmth surrounding his body as his Psyqualia grew stronger.

 _" My fiancee! Don't do it! You're meant to be with me!"_

" No! You're wrong! I won't believe in you! If you really cared about me, then the Apostles wouldn't have gotten me injured! You're just desperate for something... And I'm not going to let you have your way! Get out of my head and never come back!"

 _" Aichi! No matter where you hide or go... Just know this! Once I descend, I will chase you down until the end of the world! You can't escape from me! You're destined to be my fiancee!"_

" No! Just leave me alone and go away!"

The voice slowly shattered away as the mark disappeared. Aichi and Leon opened their eyes as Aichi found himself being hugged by Kai.

" Toshiki-kun..."

" You did great. It's gone now."

" Yeah... I... I don't hear it anymore..."

" The mark has been completely destroyed but this doesn't mean it's over yet. Gyze will still come back for him. And I think it's serious."

" But why would Gyze want Aichi as its fiancee?"

" I don't know either but I sensed a familiar nothingness from it. I'm afraid it's something we know before..."

" Nothingness...? But that can't be..."

" There's no other reason why it would've immediately chosen Sendou. Gyze could be the mastermind behind Void's work."

" No way... To think I'd hear that name again after four years..."

" Those things Void had set up in the past... It's proven Sendou's worth to Gyze. There's no doubt that it's after his powers. We can't risk that. And one more thing, its emotions were real."

" Real? Something who would destroy two worlds would feel love?"

" That might be the case as well. But Sendou, you need to learn to be stronger from now on because it'll get harder and harder on you."

" I'll be fine... I have Toshiki-kun with me..."

" That's good. As for his Psyqualia, I'll do some research before I contact you again to give you some results."

" Right, thank you. And sorry to bother you on Christmas."

" It's not problem. However, I should head back to the island now. Jillian and Sharlene are waiting for me."

" Do you need to lift?"

" No. I have a helicopter waiting just a few distances from here. Don't worry about me, just take care of Sendou. I'm counting on you, Kai."

" Leave it to me."

Leon nodded as Kai saw him out of the house before he went back to Aichi.

" So, are you feeling any better?"

" Yeah! Now that the voice is gone, I feel so much better!"

" That's good. If there's any problem again, you have to tell me, alright?"

" Yeah, I will. And, Toshiki-kun... Thank you for everything you've done. If you weren't here, I don't know what I'd have done. You gave me so much already... I should do something for you too."

" There's no need. For you, anything is possible."

" Toshiki-kun... Then, for now..."

Aichi suddenly leaned in and kissed Kai on the lips as his eyes widened before he returned the kiss. After awhile, they pulled away and smiled.

" Merry Christmas. I love you, Toshiki-kun."

" I love you too, Aichi. Merry Christmas."

They pressed their foreheads together and smiled as the moon shone in from the window, illuminating the dark room.

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Chapter 5! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

The next morning, Kai woke up in their new room and house as he smiled after seeing Aichi sleeping soundly beside him. He caressed Aichi's cheek as he woke up at the touch.

" Good morning, Toshiki-kun..."

" Good morning, Aichi. Sorry about that. Did I wake you up?"

" No... I wanted to wake up soon too..."

Kai smiled as he suddenly remembered what had happened last night while he was still waiting for Leon.

" Crap! Ibuki!"

" What happened?"

Kai shot up as he grabbed his phone and contacted Mamoru.

" Anjou! Is Ibuki-" Kai sighed after awhile, " I see... So he's been found last night with Shindou? Sorry for not contacting to ask last night. I had some problems on my side but it's been solved too. So, he's fine already, right? I see. It's a relief. Update me if anything else happens. Yeah, bye."

Kai hung the call up as he laid back down on the bed while hugging Aichi, surprising him.

" T-Toshiki-kun? What was that?"

" Nothing... Ibuki suddenly disappeared last night but he was found again... According to him, Gastille tried to kill him so that the Messiah will weaken."

" Gastille? You mean an Apostle?"

" Yeah. Shindou managed to find them and save Ibuki."

" That's a relief... But why didn't you contact them last night?"

" I was more worried about you."

" But this is a friend's life we're talking about here... I'm pretty sure I would've solved it with Leon-san either way."

" Really now?" Kai raised an eyebrow before pinching Aichi's cheek, " Then tell me, would you have been able to destroy Gyze's mark without me by your side?"

Kai released the pinch after that as Aichi rubbed his cheek while thinking about what he said.

" That's... Maybe... I guess..."

" There's our answer. And besides, I promised that I'll stay by your side and protect you. So there's no way I would leave you alone like that either."

" Thank you, Toshiki-kun."

" It's not a problem. But Aichi, we do need to solve this soon, so that we can live peacefully again."

" Yeah. But how are we going to do that?"

" Right now, we have the Dragon Empire's Zeroth Dragon at the North America Branch. Ibuki also plans to assign me to protect it with the others."

" Then..."

" I asked him for permission before. You can choose to stay here or follow me, but considering that the Apostles are after both you and the Zeroth Dragons, so I'm planning to bring you with me too. But if that's okay with you..."

" Of course I'll go with you! Don't worry! You trained me so hard for Vanguard, I'm pretty sure I can protect myself and you when they come!"

" You're that sure, huh... But if you're fine with that then that's alright."

" When do we need to go there?"

" If we're going by normal schedule, then we'll be heading there two days later."

" Then we should start packing up soon. But were our clothes already moved in here?"

" Yeah. I asked your family for help. They understood your situation and said that they would wait for you to remember them too."

" I should visit them then..."

" In your current condition, you shouldn't stress your brain too much. You might tire it out from trying to remember. Don't worry, I'll work on that too so let's go for it slowly, as promised."

" ... Yeah. Let's do that then. We should start packing then."

" Then I'll get our luggages. Our clothes are just inside that cupboard. Here. I'll help you over to there."

" Thank you."

Kai helped Aichi over to the cupboard and went to get their luggages as Aichi opened the cupboard and started taking out their clothes and necessities. That was when he found Kai's old high school jacket and uniform as he blinked.

" This is..."

That was when he remembered how they met again and their first fight together before smiling.

 _" I remembered again... I'm sure I'll slowly remember everything soon..."_ Aichi thought

" Aichi?"

Aichi snapped out of his thoughts as he turned to see Kai.

" Toshiki-kun."

" What's wrong? Suddenly taking out my high school uniform."

" I remember... Our first fight."

" ... That's great. Looks like your memories are slowly coming back together again."

" Yeah!"

" Let me help you."

" Yeah!"

Both started packing their luggages together as they were soon finished with the packing and they got themselves ready for the day.

" Where should we go today?"

" Considering your injury... Since we missed the Christmas party yesterday, why don't we invite everyone here today? It's a little last minute but it's to make up for last night."

" Yeah! That's a great idea!"

" Then, I should contact the others. Then we can decide what to whip up for the night."

" Yeah! I'll help too!"

" Sure but not too much."

" Huh?! I want to help with many things!"

" You will once you recover, alright?"

" ... Yes..."

Kai nodded as he contacted their friends and they started to think up of dishes to make. Once they did, Kai let Aichi do the cutting of ingredients at the dining table while he went to the kitchen to prepare for cooking. That was when his phone rang and he answered it.

" Hello?"

 _" Kai. This is Ibuki."_

" Ibuki, so you're alright now, I heard. But why did Gastille target you?"

 _" It's to get rid of the Messiah. Since I'm the Messiah's Vanguard, once I'm killed, the Messiah would be weakened enough to be killed."_

" I see. Well, at least you're safe."

 _" Yeah. But I didn't call for that... Is Sendou with you?"_

" He is. He's helping me out with the dinner party tonight. You received my message, didn't you?"

 _" Yeah, I did. Listen, Kai. I'm heading over to the mansion where Nome is. Apparently, Souryu got information out of him about Sendou's power. I'll contact you again once I arrive to let you listen in."_

" Alright."

 _" Okay then. I'll contact you later. Bye."_

" Bye."

Kai continued making the meal for the upcoming celebration as he also made lunch for Aichi and himself before continuing. Suddenly, his phone rang as he let the stew simmer.

" Hello? Ibuki?"

 _" Kai. How's Sendou?"_

" Oh. I let him sleep on the couch for a bit since he needs rest. What's wrong?"

 _" I'm with Nome now. So I'll let him explain everything. You can begin talking."_

 _" Of course."_

Kai carefully listened in as Nome started his explanation.

 _" The reason why Aichi Sendou has been chosen to be the spouse to Gyze is because of his power. I'm sure that much has been obvious and I presume that he'd been chosen ever since the Link Joker incident a few years back. But the problem right now is the power he has obtained... You say that his Psyqualia has turned rainbow, correct?"_

 _" Yes, that's right."_

 _" My little brother also had the same rainbow Psyqualia, and apparently, when the war of Royal Paladin and Shadow Paladin were ongoing, the two leaders also possessed rainbow Psyqualia until the war ended. Then they obtained a blue and purple Psyqualia respectively, so they shouldn't have turned back to rainbow. If it's turning rainbow at this point of time, then they would've became a true Prayer-granter."_

" A true Prayer-granter?"

 _" It's a great power but with a great sacrifice. He now has the power to purify the Zeroth Dragons."_

" Purify the Zeroth Dragons?!"

 _" That's right. Originally, the Zeroth Dragons were just once a dragon bone but was fused by spirits after Gyze threw it into a pit with abundance of spirits. If he purifies them, the dragon bone would also be destroyed and the Zeroth Dragons would never exist. It's a fearsome power for Gyze yet it is also a useful power for him as well."_

 _" Why?"_

 _" If Gyze really obtains him, his Psyqualia has enough power to break the time space gap between Cray and Earth that he needed to break it apart."_

 _" I see..."_

 _" But back to my point of a great power having a great sacrifice... In order to purify the Zeroth Dragons, his life energy will be sapped away from him. From what I know, true Prayer-granters never lived long lives. Their fate dictates that they be taken from us early. So if you allow him to purify the Zeroth Dragons, his life would be a forfeit."_

 _" You mean..."_

" ... Aichi's going to die...?!"

 _" If that happens, then the war would end. The Zeroth Dragons would never exist and Gyze would not have the required power to silence both worlds."_

" No! I'm not going to let Aichi die like this! There must be another way!"

 _" Unfortunately, if you want to win this war, there is no other option other than this."_

" There's no way I'm going to sacrifice Aichi for the sake of the world! And I won't let you tell him either! He just started remembering our memories together! I'm not going to give up like this just because his life is supposed to be short lived! I won't let it be short lived! I will make sure he doesn't do anything to sacrifice himself!"

 _" Suit yourself. I've just said what you wanted to know."_

" ... I'm hanging up."

Kai hung the call up before Ibuki could say anything else as he continued to cook while thinking about what Nome said. Before long, he had finished cooking as he woke Aichi up and they started eating.

" I'm sorry, I fell asleep..."

" It's fine. You needed your rest."

" But..."

" I'll let you help with the decorations later. They should be coming in around the evening. We can finish up by then."

" Yeah!"

" ... Aichi."

" Yeah?"

" Promise me you won't do anything reckless."

" Why are you suddenly saying that?"

" Please, just promise me you won't do anything reckless. I don't want to lose you again..."

Aichi stayed silent as he slowly made his way over to Kai and hugged him.

" I promise, Toshiki-kun. I'll always be with you. I won't do anything reckless."

Kai nodded as they hugged for sometime.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Apostles' base, Valeos was walking around while thinking back to what Gastille had said to him before...

 _~ Flashback start~_

 _Gastille was reading a newspaper when Valeos came into the room._

 _" Gastille-sama."_

 _" What is it, Valeos?"_

 _" I have been wondering why is Gyze-sama so obsessed with that human. Even going as far as saying that he had feelings for him. A god like Gyze-sama..."_

 _" ... But he isn't immune to those feelings. However, it is also best for us to capture that human too. His hidden powers can hinder us after all."_

 _" Hidden powers?"_

 _" One reason why Gyze-sama is obsessed with that human. Those powers are so dangerous that the Zeroth Dragons would be wiped out of existence."_

 _" Wiped out of existence?!"_

 _" In other words, he can purify them."_

 _" Then we should just kill him off!"_

 _" That was what I'd suggested as well. But Gyze-sama didn't want that. Instead, he ordered for his capture so that he can convert that power to alter the results. And I do agree that he has potential to stand beside Gyze-sama as an equal. He's a Prayer-granter, one of the strongest on this planet, and he has the power to purify even the most potent beings created. What will happen if we transform that power into Gyze-sama's?"_

 _" You mean..."_

 _" If we distort and corrupt his powers using Gyze-sama's powers, not even the Messiah will stand a chance. As a Prayer-granter, he can grant Gyze-sama the ultimate powers he will ever receive and exceed and his purifying powers would also become the power to corrupt the remaining Vanguards. After that, there would be nothing standing in our god's way."_

 _" ... When you say it that way. Then, what about Gyze-sama's feelings?"_

 _" From what I can tell, he isn't lying. From the day he was born, Gyze-sama had already marked him as his. The various tests with Void and Link Joker proved him to be even more worthy to bear the title of Gyze-sama's spouse. All we need to do now, before his memories try to resurface, is get him into direct contact with Gyze-sama. So, we need to get a vessel as soon as possible."_

 _~ Flashback end~_

 _" We have to hurry and capture him. Then we can present him to Gyze-sama before taking over the world."_ Valeos thought

* * *

It was soon evening as Aichi finished handing Kai the last of the decorations to hang up.

" It's so pretty!"

" Thanks to your hard work."

" No, you did most of the work. You should rest, Toshiki-kun."

" Don't worry about me. Now, let's wait for the others."

" Yeah!"

The bell rang after that as Kai went to answer the door.

" Merry Christmas!"

" And what are you doing here?"

" Hey, you don't have to be mean! I came to see Aichi-kun! And you invited me to this too!"

" Whatever."

Aichi blinked as Ren came running in to pounce on him. Aichi backed away as Ren fell on his face.

" Why are you so mean to me too, Aichi-kun?!"

" Um... Because I still don't remember you?"

" ... Good point."

Ren got off from the sofa as Kai sighed.

" Hm? Oh~ What's this? Is this why you invited us today, Kai?"

" What?"

" You know... Your reason for inviting us to here. You have good news, don't you?"

" Aichi wanted to hold a celebration for Christmas. What are you even saying?"

" The rings~"

Kai took awhile to process what was said before he broke into a small blush that he failed to hide.

" No, it's not! Don't be ridiculous!"

" Y-Yeah! I-I wanted to throw a Christmas party today! I-It's not... what you think..."

" Is that so?"

A smack was heard after that as there was a knock on the door again.

" Yo!"

" Huh? What's Ren-san doing on the floor?'

" Nothing at all. Come in."

" R-Right..."

Ignoring the pained groan from Ren, Kai led Naoki and Shingo into the living room as they sat down and started chatting with Aichi.

" Uh... Ishida-kun and Komoi-kun, am I right? Toshiki-kun told me about you two. He said you two were my classmates."

" Yeah! You created the Cardfight Club in Miyaji High too!"

" Sendou-kun, the club was a special place for you too. I'm sure you'll remember them soon enough."

" I really loved Vanguard that much, huh..."

" Yeah! You were the one who introduced me to Vanguard, so I won't forgive you if you can't remember!"

That statement earned a smack on the head by Kai as he winced.

" Ow! What was that for?!"

" For trying to threaten him."

" I wasn't!"

" No... For a delinquent like you, it sounded much like it."

" Why you!"

" What? You've got a problem?"

" Fight me!"

" Just what I wanted!"

" B-Both of you... You two are friends so don't argue so much."

" Leave them be, Aichi. They are like that everyday."

" I-I see..."

However, seeing the scene in front of him caused a memory from his high school days to surface as he remembered asking Naoki and Shingo to stop arguing as well. He smiled as Kai looked at him.

" Aichi?"

" Seeing them like this... I managed to remember something."

" That's great. Maybe their shenanigans are helping more than I thought."

" Yeah!"

That was when Kai remembered the Link Joker and Seed incident as he inwardly grimaced at the memory.

 _" He will have to see that again... But it's part of his memory... But... I don't want him to be afraid..."_ Kai thought

" Hey, Toshiki-kun. I must have many happy memories with everyone, don't I? Because I can't help but feel that way."

" That's right. There are many happy memories. But Aichi..."

" What is it?"

" While you have happy memories... there are... sad and upsetting ones."

" Sad and upsetting ones?"

" I'm afraid that you might get scared if you remember them. So, if anything scares you, you need to tell me."

" Toshiki-kun... Yeah. I will."

" Thank you, Aichi."

Kai gripped Aichi's hand as they went back to looking at Naoki and Shingo's match. Ren recovered from Kai's smack as more guests soon arrived, some with gifts in hand as well.

" Merry Christmas!"

" Put the presents down and come over to have some fights. Dinner will be served soon."

" Yeah!"

Kai plated the dishes and laid them out on the dining table as they started digging in.

" Delicious!"

" Kai-san's cooking is really delicious!"

" Thanks."

Aichi sat on the sofa and ate his dinner as well while watching the others laughing and chatting amongst each other. Suddenly, an idea popped up in his head as he leaned over on the small table in front of him to taking out a drawing pad and pencil. He placed his plate on the small table after finishing his meal as he opened the drawing pad and started sketching something while looking at his friends.

" Aichi? What are you doing?"

" I... I'm scared... If one day I forgot about all this again, I want to be able to imagine it. So, I want to draw everything out. Everyone's smile, the way they act... I want to draw them all out so that I can imagine those images in these drawings if my memories..."

" You won't lose them again, Aichi. I promise."

Kai stopped Aichi's busy hand as he placed the pad and pencil down on the small table before taking Aichi's hands.

" You won't need to imagine them. They'll always be in your memories. You won't lose them anymore. I won't let them be gone again."

" Toshiki-kun..."

" Now, let's go enjoy the party. That's why we invited everyone, right?"

" ... Yeah!"

Kai nodded as they enjoyed their night of partying with their friends. However, in the next morning, a great disaster would occur...

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, everyone! I'm back with a new chapter! Chapter 6! I hope everyone will enjoy this story and without further ado, let's start!

Normal POV

The next morning, Aichi and Kai were ready to head to the airport as Kai finished packing their luggages into his car after getting it successfully repaired as he went to the driver's seat and buckled up.

" There. Are you buckled up?"

" Yeah!"

" Then let's go."

Kai started the engine and drove off after that.

" But is this really okay? I heard from some of the others at the party that Chrono-kun is one of the targets for the Apostles too..."

" He'll be fine. But your situation is more important... The Apostles will make their moves on you too. I have to keep you safe."

" Then, you're sure that Chrono-kun will be safe?"

" Yeah, I'm sure. Don't worry."

" ... Yeah..."

" How is your ankle?"

" I'm just fine. It feels much better."

" I see. That's a relief."

The car stopped at a traffic light as a black car pulled over beside them. A device was quickly attached from a small entrance that opened up as electric shocks were activated. Kai and Aichi winced as the pain set in.

" T-Toshiki-kun...!"

" What's...?!"

Kai looked out of the window as he finally spotted the black car.

" They...!"

Aichi fainted as Kai gasped.

" Aichi!"

The shocks became stronger as Kai finally fainted as well. A magnet came out of the black car after that as the light changed and the black car drove off along with Kai's car beside it. The black car soon pulled over into an abandoned building as Kai woke up.

" What's going on...?"

Kai looked around as he gasped before unbuckling his seatbelt and moved onto removing Aichi's.

" Aichi, wake up!"

Aichi groaned as he opened his eyes as well.

" Toshiki-kun..."

" Are you okay?!"

" Yeah... T-Toshiki-kun!"

Kai turned behind as they saw Valeos and Darkface getting off the black car.

" We've got to get out of here!"

Kai opened the door at Aichi's side as they made their escape.

" Hey! You're not getting away!"

" Come on!"

Kai carried Aichi as he started running faster.

" Damn it! Where did they bring us to?!"

" They're catching up! Toshiki-kun, just put me down and run by yourself!"

" No! I'm not leaving you alone!"

Aichi suddenly sensed something as two cards flew towards him and he caught them.

" This is..."

" AH! Zoa is..."

" Aichi, those are the Zeroth Dragons!"

" ... Zeroth Dragons?"

Aichi stared at the cards as his Psyqualia glowed. Vines started growing from all sides as Kai gasped. The two Apostles started to get engulfed as Kai found a way back to the car.

" Let's get away from here!"

Kai stepped on the pedal as he drove off and out of the building.

" Aichi! Snap out of it!"

Kai quickly took the cards away from Aichi as he snapped back to reality.

" Toshiki-kun?"

Kai checked the cards as he gasped when he saw that the bottom half of the cards had a different art.

" What's going on...?"

Kai quickly called someone and turned on the speaker as the caller finally answered.

 _" Kai?"_

" Leon! Are you still in Japan?!"

 _" Yes, I am. What's going on?"_

" Go to Nome and get him to talk!"

 _" What's going on? Calm down and talk."_

" He said Aichi was going to die if he uses his Psyqualia to purify the Zeroth Dragons! But that's not it! The Zeroth Dragons are taking new forms instead!"

 _" What?! I'll be heading there first."_

" ... Toshiki-kun? What do you mean that I'm going to die?"

Kai flinched as he parked the car somewhere out of sight.

" ... I'm sorry, Aichi, for not telling you. Do you know why I asked you to not do anything reckless? If you use your Psyqualia on these Dragons... You'd be using your life energy to purify them so that Gyze can't do whatever he wishes to."

" Then... Let me do it!"

" No! It'll shorten your life!"

" But if it means that it'll halt Gyze then I must do it!"

" No! I don't want to lose you again!"

" Nothing's going to happen to me!"

" But you promised! You promised that you won't do anything reckless! I almost lost you three years ago and even now... I'm not going to let you do this again!"

" Toshiki-kun..."

" There will be another way, I'm certain of it. So..."

" ... I'm sorry..."

" Don't be. I just don't want you to risk your life. Okay?"

" Okay..."

Kai kissed Aichi on his lips as a cough broke them off.

 _" Excuse me but I'm still here, even if it's just audio."_

" I-I'm sorry, Leon-san..."

The ground suddenly started to shake as Kai checked the abandoned building. He gasped as he saw Gyze descending.

 _" Kai? Do you..."_

" Yeah..."

" Toshiki-kun?"

" We're running out of time. Let's hurry to the airport!"

Kai drove off again as Aichi looked at the rear mirror and gasped.

" That's... Gyze?"

" Yeah. It can't be... Shindou can't have..."

" Chrono-kun was the target, right...?"

" We'll save him, Aichi. I promise. But first, we need to make sure Gyze doesn't get the rest of the Zeroth Dragons. Adding the ones we have now, Gyze will surely be heading there."

" Yeah..."

 _" Kai? I'm at Nome's mansion. He wants you to come over with Sendou. I'll bring you guys to the North America Branch with my plane after that."_

" ... Okay."

Kai changed the direction of where he's driving to as they soon arrived at the mansion to see Nome.

" So what did you want to talk to us about?"

" Can I see the cards?"

Kai handed the cards to Nome as his eyes narrowed.

" This is definitely odd. The Zeroth Dragons are not disappearing. Instead, they're being purified as allies."

" Then is Aichi still..."

" This method doesn't use his life energy in that case. I didn't think about how much his power was until now. It's actually pretty powerful to be able to do this. Why don't you try fully purifying this once?"

" Y-Yeah..."

Aichi took one of the cards as his Psyqualia glowed and the Zeroth Dragon fully purified.

" This is incredible. It's taken on a new form... And did anything else happen?"

" He summoned vines of some sort..."

" Ah yes, that's Zoa's power. Looks like he's able to bring out the powers of the Dragons as well. This is much different than what I knew of. I'll do more research but don't expect results."

" I never expected you to give us much anyway."

" Toshiki-kun, don't be rude..."

" I got it."

" Anyway, we should be going now. Let's go."

" Yeah."

Kai took the cards back from Nome before they went with Leon to board his own plane to the North America Branch. Kai looked over to Aichi, who was now sleeping on his shoulder, before looking over to Leon.

" Don't worry. We'll figure out what's going on. Right now, you just keep him safe."

" ... Yeah."

As the plane landed, Kai carried the still sleeping Aichi out of it and gave a slight wave of goodbye to Leon before heading into the Branch.

" Kai!"

" Kamui."

" Brother Aichi's sleeping?"

" Yeah. Can you bring us to our room?"

" You got it!"

Kai followed Kamui and entered their as he laid Aichi down on the bed.

" Your lugagges arrived beforehand after what happened. Leon had them sent over."

" Yeah, I got it."

" Then I'll go to the control room. Just... be careful, Kai. They will be coming soon."

" Yeah."

Kamui left after that as Kai took Aichi's hand and kissed his ring.

 _" I promise to protect you, Aichi."_ Kai thought

The next few days passed as they received information of Gyze and the others. Apparently, they'd already left their base once Shion and the others confirmed their location and were most likely on their way. Kai sat beside the bed as Aichi held his hand.

" Aichi. Listen to me. They're coming soon. If you stay further away from the Zeroth Dragon cards, they'll most likely not find you. So no matter what happens, don't ever leave this room."

" What about you, Toshiki-kun?"

" I'll distract them and try to bring at least one of them back. Even if they do find you, we'll have a trap waiting."

" ... Please be careful."

" I will. I'll be back soon."

After assuring him, Kai kissed his forehead and left while wearing his communicator. Aichi curled up his the sheets when Kai left as he closed his eyes and prayed for the best. That was when the door started to creak open.

" Oh...! The door lock!"

Aichi got up as his eyes widened at the person who entered.

" I don't get what is going on exactly but... if we're being called here to help, then we should. Let's see..."

The person looked into Aichi's eyes as he blinked in confusion.

" You... No, I should talk later. They're coming."

An explosion cut them off as the person frowned.

" First, I'll have to hide you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kai and the others were spread out in order to trap the Apostles.

 _" Kai-san! There's an intruder in Aichi-san's hiding room!"_ Arata informed

" That quickly?! I'm on my way!"

Kai ran over to the room Aichi was in as he saw him sitting on the bed.

" Oh, Kai-kun."

" ... I heard there's an intruder."

" I didn't see anyone..."

Kai approached Aichi and grabbed his arm.

" K-Kai-kun...?"

" Who are you? Where is Aichi?"

" W-What are you talking about...?"

" Right now, Aichi's always calling me 'Toshiki'. Plus, I gave him a ring when I proposed. You're not wearing it."

" ... I-Is that right...?"

That was when the door got blast opened as a few footsteps were heard.

" Now, we're here to retrieve Gyze-sama's fiancée! Hand him over quietly!"

" Fiancée...?" 'Aichi' muttered

" ... I'm not handing Aichi over to you!"

 _" Kai! We're going to head over to you now!"_ Kamui communicated

" No, Kamui... Valeos has a sword and Darkface has a dynamite in hand... I want to reduce casualties so don't come." Kai communicated

" This will be made easier if you move away from there."

Kai clicked his tongue as Valeos lifted up his sword and Darkface lit a dynamite.

 _" He might be a fake but I can't let him get hurt..."_ Kai thought

That was when he felt a hand touching his shoulder and a voice whispering, " Please run. He's in the room just beside here. I'll handle them."

" No. Even if you are a fake, if you are our ally..."

" 'Fake', huh... That's my job after all."

" Huh?"

'Aichi' stepped down from the bed as Kai looked at him.

" Um... Won't you promise me something, uh... Gyze?"

" Gyze-sama will be willing to do for you anything as long as you join us."

" Y-Yes... Please spare him... He has nothing to do with this!"

" Spare Toshiki Kai?! Absolutely not! He... humiliated me! And Kamui Katsuragi will be next!"

" Oh... B-But... I-If that's so, then I won't go with you..."

" Pretty defiant as usual even with your memories erased."

" Doesn't matter! Let's just grab him now that Toshiki Kai's far and blow this room up!"

The dynamite was thrown just as Darkface grabbed 'Aichi' by his arm. Kai shielded himself as he waited for the blast. However, the dynamite just dropped to the ground as he saw that the fire had been put out.

" What?!"

" Well, I tried to warn you. Just hurry and run. You won't be able to fight them."

Kai gasped as he saw 'Aichi' holding a spear in hand.

" Who exactly are you...?!"

" Hm... I'm still Aichi Sendou. Just... we seem to have ended up in a complicated situation. But don't worry. Go and run."

Kai hesitated before running out of the door while 'Aichi' blocked Valeos's sword with the spear.

" I'm your opponent. I'll take on all four of you."

He slipped out of Darkface's grasp as he stepped back.

" I know quite a bit about Diffride but don't blame me for being just a bit too rough."

He tapped the spear after that. At the same time, Kai found the real Aichi as he grabbed his arm and started running out of the room. As soon as they were just a little further away from where 'Aichi' and the Apostles are, pillars of fire shot out from the room as they gasped.

" What's going on?!"

" It's okay, just run!"

 _" Kai, what's going on?! That fire..."_ Misaki communicated

" I don't know the details! But while we still have the chance, let's gather for now! Onimaru, you stay and wait near the Zeroth Dragons!"

Kai brought Aichi to the control room as he shut the door and locked it.

" Kai!"

" What about the fire?!"

" We're not sure... Look. That area is completely unharmed."

" But that's impossible, we all saw that fire!"

" It's an illusion." A voice said

They got startled as 'Aichi' had appeared behind them.

" W-Who are you?!"

" There's not enough time to explain. We need to get out of here."

" But the Zeroth Dragons..."

" I don't think there's a surefire way to keep them away. Just that we're delaying the inevitable. He will get his hands on those cards but your Aichi Sendou must not fall into his hands."

" But..."

" You know, that Relics that I heard about... It's best to not let Chaos Breaker catch you for a fight. I know what's going to happen and I could've left you guys to handle him but right now, he's lost his memories and there's no way to win against him."

" How did you know?"

" When I looked into your eyes, I already figured it out. Anyway, we need to get you guys out of here."

That was when 'Aichi' lit up what looks like green flames on a ring as he laid his hand on the wall and their surroundings were immediately filled with green lightning.

" This will reinforce the room in case those dynamites make their way here. Let's see..."

'Aichi' looked around a room before laying his hand on the wall again as a hole appeared.

" Now, let's go. Just follow me."

They looked at each other while hesitating as 'Aichi' continued to lead them out.

" There's another base. One that they can't find so easily."

" But Onimaru..."

" I have backup but we'll have to lose some of the Zeroth Dragons. Relics is a part of Gyze's plan after all. As long as you don't engage in a fight with Chaos Breaker, we should still be safe until then."

They soon arrived at a rundown building as they looked around.

" This is the base?!"

" Just wait."

'Aichi' soon lit up indigo flames on his ring as he touched a wall and their surroundings changed.

" This is concealed in illusion. No one suspects a single thing."

" Woah..."

" Make yourselves comfortable. I don't think we'll be expecting much of any activity for now."

" Still... they broke in pretty easily. But we still had our system."

" I'd reckon Darkface had already put in a virus. His host is capable of that much. Even if you got rid of it, you would have only broken the first layer of that virus. It's a virus within a virus."

" How do you know so much?"

" ... I just knew..."

Aichi stayed silent for the entire conversation as his eyes continued to slowly narrow while looking at 'Aichi'.

" Is something wrong, Aichi?"

" N-No... It's just... Why are there two souls inside him?"

" Huh?"

At that, 'Aichi' fell silent and looked away as he collected his calm again.

" I was just lucky. The other soul inside me is just a small link to that person's real body."

" In other words... you're a vessel?"

" Something along those lines. Don't worry, it's a kind soul. Although he doesn't show it... he saved my life and this is the only way to repay him until he gets out."

" Gets out from where?"

" ... My lips are sealed on that part. Even if I'm in another world, I must not break the Omertà. I hope you'll understand that."

" Omertà... Isn't that meaning only used among the mafia?"

" As expected of Misaki-san. Yes, I mustn't speak too much and spill information. I'll be unduly punished if I break the rules."

" So what are we going to do now?"

" I'll wait for my backup to arrive with your friend. Until then, just sit around and relax. I'll bring over some snacks too and leave it on the table."

'Aichi' left to another room as Aichi continued to stare after he went off.

" What's bothering you?"

" ... It's just... I'm seeing weird things. I don't know whether I'm mistaken or something but his internal organs..."

" Internal organs? You can see that too?"

" Somehow but only him for some reason... His internal organs... are illusions too?"

" Illusions?! Wait a minute! You mean he doesn't have them?!"

" It looks like it... I'm not sure..."

'Aichi' soon returned with snacks and drinks as he set them down on the table.

" Don't just stand there, just sit down. It's comfortable." 'Aichi' said as he sat down to sip his tea

" Y-Yeah..."

They sat down around the table as 'Aichi' set his cup down after awhile.

" They should be here soon."

" Huh?"

There was a ripple in the doorway as another 'Kai' entered with Onimaru.

" Hey. Sorry to drag you out of your fight with Kazuma Shouji." 'Aichi' said

" What's going on here?" Onimaru ask

" Sit down first." 'Kai' said

Onimaru sat on one of the couches after that as 'Aichi' looked around.

" Well, first... Your plan would fail, unfortunately. I already explained why we can't keep the Zeroth Dragons away from them. Secondly, he lost his memories, so it would be hard to stop Chaos Breaker and his plans. In the first place, why did he lose his memories? Don't tell me he bumped his head or something..." 'Aichi' said

" ... The Apostles captured him and erased his memories. Apparently... Gyze wanted to make him his fiancée..." Kai explained

" Fiancée... Huh, this is the first I've heard of a god wanting a human fiancée." 'Aichi' said

" So it's your turn. Why are you guys here?" Misaki ask

" I guess... we got called here? It's a really long story but we're here to help. No one have anymore of the Zeroth Dragons, right?" 'Aichi' ask

Aichi and Kai looked at each other in worry.

" Actually..."

Aichi showed him the changed Zeroth Dragon as 'Aichi' gasped.

" You changed it?!"

" I've never seen something like this." 'Kai' said

" ... I see. Now it's obvious why Gyze is set on getting you. Progenitor Dragon of Regal Birth, Megaloma... I didn't think this would be the case. Progenitor... Is that crest part of the Messiah?"

" Then, this dragon is part of the Messiah?! How can that...?!"

" ... No. This is not because you purified it. It's impossible for a Zeroth Dragon made with Gyze's power to become something that belongs to the Messiah. You changed its origin!" 'Aichi' exclaimed

" Huh?!"

" The Zeroth Dragons are dragons that were made from a Dragon Bone of Destruction and was put into a land abundant with spirits. Those dragons are basically Gyze itself but you... changed Zoa to this."

" ... Then do you know this? If Aichi really did try to purify a Zeroth Dragon, his life would shorten until he dies." Kai explained

" What?!"

" Why didn't you say something important like this?!" Kamui exclaimed

" ... Yuni-san..." 'Aichi' muttered

" Aichi, what should we do?" 'Kai' ask

'Aichi' took Aichi's hand as he wore a ring on his middle finger.

" W-What?!"

" Stay still and concentrate."

The ring shone as rainbow flames lit up.

" This is his Life Flame. It still looks strong. That means his life force is still there. If you really did purify a Zeroth Dragon, your flame wouldn't be this big."

The flame extinguished once 'Aichi' took out the ring and wore it back on his finger.

" Sorry. You just reminded me of someone. Someone who also used her life force to save the world."

" B-But if it could save the world..."

" ... No. You shouldn't have those thoughts. There will be another way. You don't have to go by what you think fate has written out for you. Fate and Destiny can be changed by your own hands. There's never one path."

'Aichi' and 'Kai' then looked at the door as they stood up.

" They're close by." 'Aichi' said

" Huh?!"

" Considering that they have a car, I wouldn't be that surprised. But not even Gyze can see through the illusion."

" Yes, that's true." 'Aichi' said while he rubbed the back of his right hand, " I'm going out for a bit. Let me borrow this card."

" S-Sure, but... Won't it be dangerous?"

" It won't. Trust me. I'll be back soon. Take care of them, Kai-kun."

" Yeah."

'Aichi' took his spear and retracted it before heading out of the door. 'Aichi' then walked a bit of distance away from the rundown building as he saw headlights flashing in the distance. He covered his eyes as Darkface came out of the car.

" There you are!"

" ... Hey there. I hope you didn't get too burned."

" Where are the other Apostles?"

" Hmph!"

" Stubborn as always. It's just like you, Darkface-san."

" Huh?! What would you know about me?!"

" ... You're the mightiest warrior in Megacolony and the heir to the throne after Gredora-san. Of course I would know."

Lifting up his right hand, a green clan mark slowly glowed and appeared as Valeos and Chaos Breaker stepped out to take a quick look at the situation.

" T-That's..."

" ... That's why I have to set things straight with you. As your Queen, my mistake has dragged you into this meaningless battle. So, as a Queen, I will stop you from participating in this battle right now."

Suddenly, 'Aichi's' clothes changed to a brown coat, with red tassels and a short and baggy maroon pants with red heel boots with grey socks. A purple scarf with red stripes is wrapped around his neck while a black hat with light green trims and four corners was on his head. There was also a purple crystal necklace around his neck, popping out of his scarf. He also wore a pair of long brown gloves on his arms.

" Don't tell me... That unit is..." Valeos exclaimed

" ... Queen Gredora?!"

* * *

And that's the end of this chapter! I was stuck with what I should name the new Dragons but Bushiroad helped a lot with this XD Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and I'll see everyone in the next chapter!


End file.
